The January transfer window is well underway and Chelsea have been incredibly active in the market so far by bringing in three players.

Graham Potter has bolstered his squad by signing Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, and David Fofana, whilst Joao Felix is reportedly on the verge of a loan move to Stamford Bridge from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

However, the club may also have one eye on what they want to be doing in the summer transfer window and one player who appears to be on their radar is RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol.

Journalist Dean Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT that the club have "dominated conversations" around the defender and that it has felt as though they would have the "edge" over other teams in the race to land his signature at the end of the season.

The Croatian international reportedly has a €110m (£97m) release clause in his contract and it remains to be seen whether or not the Bundesliga outfit are willing to accept an offer below that amount.

If Chelsea are able to secure a deal for the talented young defender at the end of the season then they could land their long-term heir to Thiago Silva at the back.

The veteran centre-back is in the final few months of his contract at Stamford Bridge and he will be 39 by the end of the year, which suggests that he could be heading into the final throes of his career at the club.

He has been a phenomenal performer in the Premier League for Potter's side this season as he has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.31 across 15 appearances in the division.

The Brazil international has won 72% of his individual duels and completed 90% of his attempted passes throughout the campaign, which shows that he has been a dominant defender and a reliable player in possession for the Blues.

Gvardiol, who reporter Sam Dean hailed as "dominant", has shown signs of promise in his short career to date that he has the potential to hit the levels that Silva is currently showing in the future.

The 20-year-old averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.16 across seven appearances at the World Cup in 2022 and completed 90% of his passes, whilst winning 51% of his duels, and The Athletic's Jordan Campbell lauded him as a "machine of an athlete" during the competition.

His form in Qatar came after he averaged a Sofascore of 7.10 across 29 outings in the Bundesliga for Leipzig during the 2021/22 campaign, which shows that he has the quality to deliver consistently impressive performances in a major European league.

The gem, who is 18 years younger than the current Chelsea number six, has already established himself as an impressive performer at the top level and the Blues could have a terrific, long-term, successor to Thiago Silva by bringing him to Stamford Bridge this year.