Chelsea line-up move for third Southampton defender

Having previously been touted with an interest in both Virgil van Dijk and former left-back Ryan Bertrand, Chelsea have now been linked with a move for Southampton right-back Cedric Soares by The Evening Standard.

The Portuguese is believed to have a number of suitors across the continent but the latest reports suggest that the Premier League leaders are keen to persuade him to stay in England and make the switch to the capital. The 25-year old, a European Championship winner last summer, has adapted to English football with relative ease since a move from Sporting CP in 2015, starting 44 of 45 Premier League appearances for Saints.

In that time he has impressed at both ends, with only Oriol Romeu making more tackles for Southampton since the start of the 2015/16 campaign than Cedric (129). Moreover, since he arrived in the Premier League no player has delivered more accurate crosses when excluding corners in England's top tier (60).

While Victor Moses has performed admirably in a newly adopted right wing-back role this season, it is thought that Chelsea are still concerned about a lack of natural options in that position. Pedro has filled in in Moses' absence but Cedric's ability to have an influence at both ends would certainly appeal to Conte and a bid may be forthcoming in the summer.

With regards to Southampton, who are used to fielding offers for their best players each year, the loss of Cedric may not be as detrimental as fans might fear however, with the team actually picking up better results in his absence. Indeed, Saints have won 50% of the 22 league matches the full-back has not started since his arrival compared to just 36.4% with him in the starting XI.