Chelsea close in on surprise deal for £40m-rated defender

Chelsea are closing in on a shock deal for Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk in a switch worth £40m, claims The Sun.

Frank Lampard has made signing a new centre-back a top priority this summer once Chelsea land Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.

The Chelsea manager was keen to re-sign Declan Rice from West Ham and covert the midfielder into a centre-back but the Blues have been priced out of a move.

With West Ham holding out for in the region of £80m, Chelsea have instead turned their attention to Brighton captain Dunk.

The 28-year-old, who is a life long Chelsea supporter, has spent his entire career at Brighton and many feel he is one of the most underrated defenders in the Premier League.

Dunk scored three goals and provided three assists in the Premier League last season and proved he is a capable ball-playing centre-back in Graham Potter's first year at the club.

The one-cap England international had only registered a pass success rate above 80% in two of six league campaigns prior to the 2019/20 campaign but finished last season with an 87% success rate.