Chelsea have made a formal offer for Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, according to reports.
It emerged on Thursday evening that Chelsea had expressed an interest in Dewsbury-Hall, who excelled in the Championship last season under new Blues boss Enzo Maresca.
Dewsbury-Hall, once a cut-price target for Manchester United, had initially been expected to join Brighton & Hove Albion in a £25m deal which would have also seen Jakub Moder move in the opposite direction.
But The Athletic note that the 25-year-old has pulled out of those negotiations to listen to Chelsea's proposal, and an offer has been submitted to Leicester, who are thought to need to raise money before June 30 to avoid breaches of the Premier League's Profit & Sustainability Rules.
It is claimed that Dewsbury-Hall is only interested in joining Chelsea and reuniting with Maresca if he leaves Leicester this summer, with a move to Brighton off regardless of whether he ends up in west London.
Fabrizio Romano adds that Chelsea could look to involve players in their bid for Dewsbury-Hall, similar to Brighton's offer involving Moder. David Datro Fofana and Cesare Casadei, who spent the first half of last season on loan with Leicester, have been discussed.
Dewsbury-Hall has spoken openly about his admiration for Maresca, recently telling BBC Sport: "Enzo was an unbelievable manager. I genuinely see him becoming a top manager, so it wasn't a surprise to see he was in demand.
"It is weird having to change a manager after being so successful, but that's football.|
Maresca himself admitted last season that he had taken it upon himself to improve Dewsbury-Hall's return in front of goal. The midfielder scored 12 goals and assisted a further 14 last season.
"He's fantastic with the ball, he knows when to attack and what to give the team," Maresca explained last year. "He is so dangerous near the box, and has the quality to score or assist from anywhere. He's always giving the pass, getting assists."