Reports: Chelsea find breakthrough in Ben Chilwell talks as world-record fee agreed

Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell is reported to be on his way out of the King Power Stadium, and Chelsea are said to have agreed a fee with the Foxes for the left-back.

According to The Times, Chelsea have made a breakthrough in talks with Leicester City and are closing in on signing the left-back.

Leicester have valued Chilwell at around £80 million, the fee that they sold Harry Maguire for. The England centre-back moved to Manchester United last summer.

The Times now report that recent talks between Chelsea and Leicester have produced a positive outcome with respect to the proposed transfer fee. It is likely that Chelsea will have to pay a world-record transfer fee for a left-back.

The current costliest left-back in the world is Lucas Hernandez, who moved to Bayern Munich for £68 million from Atletico Madrid. But Hernandez has also largely played as a centre-back in his first year at Bayern.

---

Chelsea's extensive summer outlay set to continue with imminent Chilwell coup

Ben Chilwell is set to become the world's most expensive left-back

The Times report that Leicester's bargaining chip during negotiations was the fact that Chelsea have been happy to spend the big bucks in this transfer window.

The Blues have spent nearly a combined £86 million on signing Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig. Frank Lampard's side are also said to want Kai Havertz, who could cost £90 million from Bayer Leverkusen.

Lampard, though, has identified Chilwell as his no.1 target to fill the left-back role. The Blues have been plagued with uncertainty in the left-back spot with neither Marcos Alonso nor Emerson Palmieri really able to nail down a permanent slot in that position.

In order to accommodate Alonso's strengths, Lampard has only really utilised him as a wing-back, when they've played three at the back.

But with the attacking signings that Chelsea have made and considering the profile of players they are targeting, it is easy to see that Lampard wants to switch to a four-man defensive system next season.

Chilwell was an important cog in the Leicester wheel, especially in the first half of the season. The Englishman and Ricardo Pereira were outstanding, especially going forward. The duo made vital contributions for large parts of the season, as Leicester surged into a top 4 spot in December.

However, post the restart, with Chilwell unavailable, Leicester fell off a cliff and eventually finished the season in fifth place.