Chelsea move ahead of Everton to sign Brazilian defender

Chelsea have reportedly moved ahead of Everton in the race to sign Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes in the summer.

The Toffees have been heavily linked with the Brazilian centre-back in recent months and reports have recently claimed that they are close to sealing a transfer agreement worth £27m with Lille.

However, according to Eurosport, that does not appear the case and the Blues have now stolen the march to sign the central defender ahead of the Merseyside outfit.

Magalhaes played against Chelsea in both of the Champions League group stage games earlier this season and it is believed that his performances have also impressed the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard has regularly changed his options at the heart of the defence this term and he has identified Gabriel as the ideal candidate to accompany one of the existing centre-backs in the squad next season.

Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori are presently the senior centre-backs in the squad and one of them could part ways for the arrival of Gabriel.