Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash during the January transfer window.
The Blues have been hampered with injuries to several first-team players this season, including captain Reece James who underwent surgery on a troublesome hamstring problem last week.
James has sustained three significant hamstring injuries within the space of 12 months and his latest setback is expected to rule him out for around four months.
Twenty-year-old Malo Gusto is Chelsea's only recognised right-back in Mauricio Pochettino's squad, while centre-back Axel Disasi and left-back Marc Cucurella have also operated on the right side of defence this season.
Despite their well-documented spending sprees in recent transfer windows under co-owner Todd Boehly, Chelsea are expected to step up their pursuit of a new right-back in the New Year to provide greater competition for Gusto, in particular, during the second half of the campaign.
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According to 90min, Chelsea have identified Poland international Cash as a potential winter-window target.
The 26-year-old spent the first four years of his senior career at Nottingham Forest before joining Aston Villa for around £15m in the summer of 2020.
Cash has since made a total of 122 appearances for the Lions in all competitions, including 26 outings this season across the Premier League, EFL Cup and Europa Conference League.
Villa's No.2 has recently experienced a spell out of the starting lineup, with manager Unai Emery opting to play Ezri Konsa at right-back in top-flight fixtures against Bournemouth, Manchester City and Arsenal.
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Cash then returned to the first XI for back-to-back games against Brentford and Sheffield United, starting as a right-midfielder against the Bees, before serving a one-match ban for the 3-2 loss at Manchester United on Boxing Day.
It remains to be seen whether Cash will continue to be rotated at right-back by Emery, but if his regular game time becomes limited, a possible switch to Stamford Bridge could appeal to the defender.
Having said that, it is thought that Cash would likely drop behind James as soon as he returns to fitness towards the end of the season.
Chelsea are also said to be prioritising the addition of a new centre-forward in January, with the likes of Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Brentford's Ivan Toney believed to be high on their list of targets.
Oliver Thomas
