Reports: Chelsea join race to sign £80m rated Ligue 1 star

What's the story?

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was rather matter-of-fact about Chelsea's chances of retaining the Premier League title after their loss to West Ham on Saturday, saying that Chelsea was now effectively ruled out of the title race.

The Blues are currently 14 points behind Manchester City in third place, and it's highly unlikely that they will perform badly enough for Chelsea to make up the considerable deficit.

However, Conte has not completely abandoned hope and according to reports from the Express, Chelsea will attempt to pilfer Monaco winger Thomas Lemar from under the noses of London rivals Arsenal.

In case you didn't know..

AS Monaco had an incredible season last year, winning Ligue 1 and making it all the way to the Champions League semi-finals. The French club was widely praised for their performances especially considering the fact that their squad was put together on a comparatively modest budget.

Unfortunately for Monaco, a mass exodus of sorts took place in the summer transfer window, with several players making high-profile moves away.

Lemar is said to be keen on a move to the Premier League

The likes of Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko, and Kylian Mbappe moved to Manchester City, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, leaving the squad bereft of the talent they had last year.

Monaco is currently third in Ligue 1 and failed to get past the Champions League group stages.

The heart of the matter

Arsenal were heavily linked with Lemar in the summer transfer window, having scouted the winger extensively for a period of months.

The Gunners faced stiff competition from fellow Premier League club Liverpool, although neither club was able to agree on a deal and the move eventually fell through.

Arsenal also arguably have a greater need for Lemar, with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil seemingly on their way out of the team after the expiration of their contracts.

The only real hindrance at this moment of time for Arsenal is Monaco's valuation of their winger. Monaco has valued Lemar at around £80 million, a sum that would eclipse the £46.5 million fee that Arsenal forked over to Lyon for Lacazette.

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Author's Take

Chelsea has been linked to several attacking players in the past few weeks including Lucas Moura and Ross Barkley, but several of Chelsea's resident attacking midfielders are struggling to make the first team.

Conte has shifted to a more defensive formation in recent weeks that employs only two entirely attacking players, namely Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata.

It seems unlikely that they would splurge such an extravagant amount on Lemar if he's destined to warm the bench alongside Willian and Pedro.