Football News: Chelsea is all set to hijack Marc Curcurella's deal with Brighton as Manchester City's offer faces rejection

The 24-year-old submitted a transfer request last week because of fears that his transfer fee is too high, and Manchester City has so far shown itself unwilling to meet Brighton's £50 million estimate for him.

On the other hand, Brighton has resisted giving in, and Chelsea is hopeful that a deal can be done given Manchester City's lack of movement in negotiations.

Chelsea is searching throughout Europe for defensive reinforcements after missing out on several targets to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. They left on free transfers for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt were also targeted for Chelsea, but both centre-backs decided to move on.

After acquiring Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and failing to reach an agreement with Manchester City to re-sign Nathan Ake, they are now looking for options.

The two parties are currently finalising an agreement, including payment terms and add-ons.

Personal terms are not a concern because it is understood that they have already been agreed upon in principle, and Cucurella, who was interested in moving to City, has already made it known through his representatives that he is more than pleased to join Chelsea.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made it clear to his superiors that he wants three new defenders despite already buying Kalidou Koulibaly this summer. He is already well on his way to achieving his goal.

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea's head coach, believes that Spain's Cucurella would make an excellent left-sided centre-back and that Cucurella is receptive to a move to Stamford Bridge.

Who else is moving to Chelsea?

Denzel Dumfries of Inter Milan is a target on the other wing, but the Serie A team is reluctant to let players depart.

According to reports, Chelsea considered making a formal offer to sign another right-sided defender in the same mold, Djed Spence, before transferring from Middlesbrough to Tottenham. At one point, Chelsea reportedly said they would theoretically match the £19 million Spurs ultimately paid for Spence.

Instead, they are trying to sign Dumfries, who Inter is rumoured to value between $30 and $40 million, and they are also inquiring about Wesley Fofana of Leicester City.

According to sources, Leicester has reportedly tried to deter would-be suitors by placing an £80 million value on Fofana.

This summer, N'Golo Kante's and Jorginho's futures are also uncertain. The final 12 months of each contract for the Chelsea midfielders at Stamford Bridge have just begun.

Kante's contract with the west London side expires in June 2023. Thomas Tuchel earlier this year compared Kante to Chelsea's Kylian Mbappe.

The Blues and the France international have not officially begun contract negotiations, but they want him to stay at Stamford Bridge longer.

Jorginho's contract is also set to expire in June 2023. The Italian midfielder is happy in his current position at Chelsea and is not in a hurry to leave. However, if the appropriate deal materialised, Chelsea would sell Jorginho.