Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Elseid Hysaj and Riechedly Bazoer

Chelsea are said to be stepping up their efforts to sign Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj, who has also been touted as a target for both Manchester United and Manchester City. Elsewhere, it's been confirmed Riechedly Bazoer will leave Ajax in January.

Hysaj has already been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but Harry Pratt of the Daily Star Sunday reported both Chelsea and City are ready to make their presence known in the transfer race.

The 22-year-old joined Napoli from Empoli in 2015 and has a contract until 2021, meaning any suitor could find it difficult to tempt the Serie A giants into a sale.

However, football writer David Amoyal recently noted there is an advantage to be had by Premier League clubs chasing the player because of a release clause in his deal that is exclusive to non-Italian outfits:

The 27-times capped Albania international could be a smart signing for Blues manager Antonio Conte considering his natural position is right-back, although he can also feature on the left side of defence.

Similar to incumbent Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta, that means Hysaj could be of use on either side of the back line of Conte's preferred 3-4-3 formation. There could be tension between the player's entourage and Napoli too, after his agent, Mario Giuffredi, hit out at manager Maurizio Sarri when speaking to Radio Crc in October (h/t Calciomercato):

"

Players’ performances are not below their usual standards. I don’t agree with Sarri’s opinion. If there’s a problem I don’t act like nothing is happening. I am not stupid and if one of my clients has problems I am the first one to admit it. Hysaj is not struggling, he’s mentally strong. He’s just a bit tired because he’s played two successive games with his national team.

"

Meanwhile, Ajax manager Peter Bosz has said Bazoer will likely leave the Amsterdam club during the January transfer window, although Chelsea will need to move quickly if they're to snag his services.

Speaking to the official Ajax website (h/t Metro's Max Miller), Bosz explained the 20-year-old was on the verge of a departure, four years after moving to the Netherlands' capital as an academy player:

"

Riechedly and I had a good conversation on Saturday afternoon. He reported that his transfer is in the final phase – and I also understand this from Marc [Overmars, director of football].

We will play, in the next eight days, three very important matches, in between three scheduled rehabilitation courses and two tactical training sessions.

This training is not for him as he has a view to a new club, which is why we gave him freedom from training to work with players who are focused on our next opponent.

We shook hands and parted in a good way.

"

It's speculated that Wolfsburg are the club that will snatch Bazoer from the Eredivisie giants, meaning Chelsea and Arsenal—also mentioned as an interested party—don't have much time to act.

OptaJohan's Michiel Jongsma cited Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf when recently relaying reports of a switch to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, who could be getting their hands on an extremely promising starlet:

Bazoer has long been viewed as one of the biggest prospects in the Netherlands, although his progress has been derailed during the 2016-17 campaign, during which he's yet to score or record an assist in five league outings.

Ajax are renowned for cutting ties with players when they receive what they deem suitable fees for their young talents, leaving Chelsea with a short time frame to make their move or miss out on the 20-year-old midfielder.