Chelsea planning £35m bid for Nice defender Youcef Atal?

Chelsea are reportedly considering a £35m move for Nice defender Youcef Atal if their transfer ban gets lifted in January.

The Blues have conceded nine goals in just four Premier League games this season, and manager Frank Lampard is now believed to be prioritising the addition of a new central defender to provide competition for Andreas Christensen, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma.

Chelsea were prohibited from making transfers for two windows after breaching rules about signing young players, but they are currently challenging the ban and should it be lifted, the Daily Mail reports that Atal is one of their top targets.

The 23-year-old joined Nice from Paradou AC in his native Algeria last summer, going on to score six times in 29 Ligue 1 appearances.

Atal already has 14 caps for his country, and he played for them yesterday against Benin in their first friendly since winning the African Cup of Nations in July.