There is no escaping the fact that Chelsea have endured a torrid Premier League campaign this season, but with three league wins on the bounce and a place in the Carabao Cup final secured, Mauricio Pochettino looks to have finally steadied the ship in West London.

While the Champions League places may be out of reach this year, the Blues can still build on their current momentum and perhaps fight for a Conference or even Europa League finish if things go their way.

Moreover, with the transfer window now in full swing, Todd Boehly and Co have the opportunity to strengthen the squad for the future, and the latest defender touted for a move to Stamford Bridge could do precisely that and be the perfect long-term partner for Levi Colwill.

Chelsea look to Ligue 1 for Colwill's perfect partner

According to reports from Spain, Chelsea are looking to strengthen their defence and have identified LOSC Lille's incredibly exciting young prospect, Leny Yoro, as a primary target – with the teenager among a list of options that the club are considering across a variety of positions.

The Blues will have to act fast should they wish to secure the 18-year-old's signature, though, as French publication FootMercato has revealed that Paris Saint-Germain are equally keen on the centre-back and have already planned talks with representatives from Lille.

Despite just a year and a half remaining on Yoro's deal with Les Dogues, FootMaercato revealed last month that the French giants would only listen to offers starting at €50m, or about £43m.

While that is a lot of money, it might prove worth it, given the potential the youngster is believed to possess.

How Leny Yoro could be the perfect Colwill partner

Now, despite their poor results – and even poorer performances – this season, Chelsea are quite well-stocked in the centre-back department. Still, upon closer inspection, there are a number of issues that signing Yoro, or "one of the most talented young CBs in world football", as he was described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, could solve.

Firstly, as fantastic as Thiago Silva has been for Chelsea, he'll turn 40 in September, and while modern sports science is extending the careers of footballers more than ever, he cannot keep going for much longer, so someone else is going to need to step in as Colwill's long-term partner.

There are, of course, other options at the club, such as Axel Disasi and Wesley Fofana.

However, the former has had a rough time of things so far this season, with talkSPORT pundit Andy Jacobs labelling him a "disaster" earlier in the campaign, and the latter has already missed 54 games – and counting – for club and country since signing for the Blues a year and a half ago.

Another alternative might be Benoît Badiashile, but he has also suffered from sporadic injuries since joining the club, and even when he has been fit, Pochettino has rarely selected him in the starting XI – making just six league appearances this season.

With all that in mind, it suddenly looks like the Pensioners could do with another high-quality young centre-back who can remain at the club for the long term and build a solid and potentially title-winning partnership with the team's modern John Terry, which is precisely what Yoro could do.

It isn't just the circumstance that would lead to the Lille star breaking into the Blues' starting XI, but his performances, and this can be best seen in his underlying numbers.

Considering he started this season at just 17-years-old, the fact that he is averaging 4.68 ball recoveries, 3.46 clearances, 2.88 tackles and interceptions all per 90 while maintaining a passing accuracy of 91.3% is genuinely impressive.

Progressive Passes

2.50

Passing Accuracy

91.3%

Shot-Creating Actions

0.58

Tackles Won

1.03

Percentage of Tackles Won

64.7%

Ball Recoveries

4.68

Clearances

3.46

Tackles + Interceptions

2.88

All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Ligue 1 Season

Moreover, the fact that he is already winning 64.7% of the challenges he commits to bodes incredibly well for his future.

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Ultimately, Chelsea have a number of decent defenders on the books this season but no clear candidate to fill in next to Colwill for the long-term, so Pochettino should be pushing hard to get the incredibly talented Yoro through the door, as Kulig's claim that he has "world-class potential" looks truer with every performance.