Chelsea are apparently monitoring Ivan Perisic as Thomas Tuchel seeks to improve his wing-back options.
The Blues have lost Ben Chilwell to a cruciate ligament injury for the rest of the season, leaving them low on depth on the left flank, where Marcos Alonso has started 12 of the last 14 games across all competitions.
Chelsea see Perisic as the ideal candidate to provide cover and competition for Alonso, according to the Mirror. Perisic has played as a left wing-back for Inter Milan this season. The European champions were seeking to sign Everton defender Lucas Digne on a loan move in January to improve their left-back options, but were unable to reach an agreement.
Last Monday, Digne signed a £25 million deal with Aston Villa, leading Tuchel to recall Kenedy from Flamengo.
Flamengo was the Brazilian's fifth loan spell since joining Chelsea in 2015. He has struggled to establish himself as a regular at Stamford Bridge.
Since joining Inter Milan from Wolsfburg in the summer of 2015, Perisic has played 230 games for the club, scoring 49 goals and assisting on another 42. The 32-year-contract old's expires in six months, and he is said to be eager to sign a new agreement with the current Serie A champions, but the two sides remain at odds.
Perisic wanted to sign a three-year contract with a larger pay than his present one, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, while Inter Milan preferred him to sign a two-year contract with lower compensation.
If Inter and Perisic cannot agree on a contract, the Serie A champions may try to transfer him in January rather than risk losing him for free in the summer. Meanwhile, Nerazzurri president Steven Zhang told Italian source Tuttosport this week that one of the club's top priorities is to find a long-term successor for the Croatia international.
Perisic has also played as a right wing-back in the past, and his versatility could help Tuchel, who has been without Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah due to injuries. The former suffered a hamstring injury against Brighton on December 27 that will keep him out for another four to six weeks, while the latter may miss a few weeks after worsening a hamstring issue against Liverpool on January 2.
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