Chelsea are keen to signing Sevilla midfielder Steven N'Zonzi, Metro has reported.
The Frenchman has a £21million release clause in his contract but new manager Antonio Conte is determined to make a move after the player's impressive campaign in the Spanish Liga.
Last week, reports also claimed that he is a target for Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes was full of praise for the 27-year-old earlier this month.
"I don't think I actually appreciated how good he was before I joined Stoke," Hughes said.
"In his last season Steven was our player of the year and a big influence on the team.
"There was never any issue with Steven and we tried our hardest to make him understand what we were trying to do here but he wanted a fresh challenge.
"It was never about the money, that was never the point of the discussions we had. He wanted the opportunity to play in a different league and maybe raise his profile.
"Wrongly in my view, he felt playing at Stoke wouldn't allow him to get in the French team and he wanted to address that."
