Chelsea have been the most active of any team across the continent over the past few transfer windows, coinciding with the arrival of chairman Todd Boehly, and could be about to further add to their squad with the signing of teenage defender Ishe Samuels-Smith from fellow Premier League side Everton.

Who are Chelsea trying to sign?

Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku have already arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer – as has a new head coach in Mauricio Pochettino – but many more have departed.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all left as part of a major squad overhaul on the back of last season's terrible 12th-place finish.

The Blues are now expected to focus on replenishing their squad before the window closes on 1 September, with Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo reportedly top of their list.

Many others have been linked, including Southampton's Tino Livramento and Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, while the Daily Mail claims that 17-year-old defender, Samuels-Smith is closing in on a £4m move to west London.

Who is Everton defender Ishe Samuels-Smith?

Samuels-Smith was listed as one of the top 20 biggest talents to look out for in The Guardian's 2022 Next Generation list last year, but his career has so far been restricted to just appearances at youth team level.

That is not all that surprising given he only recently turned 17, but already teams are seemingly circling to land a youngster described as having a "bright future" by The Athletic's Patrick Boyland.

The England U17 international is comfortable playing at left-back and centre-back, and it is the latter where he could come in handy at Stamford Bridge in the long term.

Chelsea are not short of centre-back options, even accounting for Koulibaly's departure, with Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile currently the men to overtake for a starting spot.

Silva's illustrious career is coming to an end, though, and Pochettino could no doubt do with a left-footed centre-back who can perfectly complement right-footed Fofana, who will be hoping his Chelsea career can take off in his second season at the club.

As pointed out by The Guardian's Andy Hunter, Samuels-Smith 'is comfortable stepping into space with the ball and has an excellent passing range', making him perfectly suited to a Pochettino-managed side.

Not helped by a long-term injury lay-off, Fofana is coming off the back of a disrupted first season in west London following a move from Leicester City worth up to £75m. At that price, Chelsea will be eager to get a lot more out of the France international.

Fofana did still show some promise last season – his 1.3 interceptions per game in the Premier League being the second-most of any Chelsea player, according to WhoScored, while his 89.8 pass-success percentage was bettered only by Silva (91.3%) among Chelsea centre-backs.

Also ranked in the top 2% of all centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past 12 months for progressive carries (2.20 per 90 minutes), as per FBref, it is clear that Fofana has plenty to give the Blues.

With the reported imminent arrival of Samuels-Smith, who was named on the substitutes' bench by both Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche last season, Chelsea may just have found Fofana's ideal long-term partner.