Chelsea Transfer News: Michael Keane Enquiry Reported, Latest Blues Rumours

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is reportedly eyeing Burnley centre-back Michael Keane as a long-term replacement for John Terry, and the Blues have made "a preliminary enquiry" about the Englishman. 

According to David McDonnell in the Mirror, Chelsea are prepared to pay up to £25 million to sign the 23-year-old as they attempt to bolster their woefully inconsistent back line.

McDonnell added that Premier League champions Leicester City pursued Keane in the summer, but Burnley rejected several offers including a final £15 million bid.

Chelsea's defensive frailties were exposed again on Saturday as they lost 3-0 to Arsenal.

Having conceded 53 goals in the Premier League last season, Bleacher Report's Dean Jones believes Chelsea's summer defensive recruitment was not good enough as only the largely unproven Marcos Alonso and unreliable David Luiz were brought in:

Per Sami Mokbel in the Daily Mail, Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill are both set to be "phased out" by Conte, and the Italian wants to bring in a new full-back and new two centre-backs, having missed out on prime targets Leonardo Bonucci and Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer. 

Seemingly Keane is one of Chelsea's new targets, and the west London outfit are "confident" of luring him to Stamford Bridge despite Burnley preparing to offer him a new contract in a bid to keep hold of him, per McDonnell.

The former Manchester United defender's deal at Turf Moor runs to June 2018, but Burnley could surely have their heads turned if Chelsea do make a bid for Keane in excess of £20 million.

Chelsea are in desperate need of fresh blood in their back line as they remain worryingly over-reliant on 35-year-old Terry, who is sidelined through injury.

Keane has shown excellent potential with Burnley—he started 44 of their 46 league games last term as they won the Championship—and seems to have a cool head on him.

He netted his first Premier League goal in the Clarets' 2-0 win over Watford on Monday continuing an excellent record when finding the net, per WhoScored.com:

It is clear that Chelsea must address their defensive problems in January when the transfer window opens, and Burnley should be braced for a pursuit of Keane, especially if he continues to perform well in the lead-up to Christmas.