Report: Leicester City Interested in Signing Out-of-Favor Chelsea Star

Premier League outfit Leicester City is reportedly interested in signing Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell. The 27-year-old still has two-and-a-half years left on his contract but has become surplus to requirements under Enzo Maresca.

Leicester City Wants to Bring Ben Chilwell Back from Chelsea

According to a report from Football Transfers, Chilwell has become a transfer target for his former club Leicester City, four years after he left the King Power Stadium for Stamford Bridge.

Lee Cooper wants to bolster his defense ahead of the second half of the 2024-25 Premier League season and has identified Chilwell as a person of interest. The Foxes want to sign Chilwell on a loan deal until the end of the 2024-25 season. The England international is reportedly open to leaving Chelsea in January due to a lack of opportunities.

Chilwell spent five seasons at Leicester City before moving to Chelsea, scoring four goals and providing 11 assists in 123 matches across competitions.

Enzo Maresca Regrets Ben Chilwell Treatment

At the start of the 2024-25 season, Chelsea manager Maresca bluntly told Chilwell that he was not in his plans. The club tried to ship him off but a deal could not materialize. Initially, he did not even train with the first team, but Maresca brought him back into the fold for Chelsea’s Carabao Cup Third Round clash with Barrow.

Ahead of the game on September 24, Maresca said (via The Independent):

“The idea for him was to leave. In the moment that he’s here, he’s one of the squad, he’s training. He will be in the squad tomorrow and hopefully, we can give him some minutes.”

After the 3-0 win over Barrow, in which Chilwell had a solid 45-minute stint, Maresca suggested that he might have treated the defender too harshly.

He stated (via The Mirror):

“I said it many times and I will say again that, as long as Chilly is with us, he is a Chelsea player. And if we need him, we give him a chance and minutes.

“We all make mistakes. Probably yes; probably no. I am here to take decisions. Sometimes they are good decisions and sometimes they are not good. The only thing I can say is that there is not any bad intention from me. It is just to see things and try to think about the best things for the club.”

Chilwell joined Chelsea from Leicester City for a hefty £50 million ($65.3 million) fee in the summer of 2020. Since his move from Leicester, he has played 107 games for the Pensioners, scoring nine goals and providing 12 assists.

His debut season turned out to be his finest, as he chipped in with four goals and seven assists in 42 games and helped his team to the UEFA Champions League.