Chelsea are on the hunt for better defensive players to help them in their bid for silverware next season. 

The Blues have identified their backline as an area of weakness and are hoping to bring in reinforcements this summer. Football Insider has linked the club to a move for Brighton's Lewis Dunk as Frank Lampard eyes up some new centre-back options.

Chelsea aren't hesitating when it comes to their summer spending this season, as they've already recruited attackers Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. A highly-anticipated move for Kai Havertz is also due to be completed after Marina Granovskaia reached personal agreements with the German and his agent.

However, now is the time to shift focus onto how to improve the team's leaky defence, which saw them concede the most goals out of the ten top placed teams this campaign. Kepa Arrizabalaga has been Lampard's main issue, but with a report from The Times (via The Mirror) claiming Chelsea are looking to sell four defenders, a whole new back-line could be on the list.

The report highlights Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen, Emerson Palmieri and Kurt Zouma as those made available this window.

Dunk is currently valued at a friendly £18million, which is a much more appealing price that fellow defensive target Ben Chilwell, who will reportedly command more than £80m (via The Mirror).

The 28-year-old skipper has been almost ever-present in Brighton's 2019/20 season, missing just two Premier League matches and three cup games (via Transfermarkt). The Seagulls finished seven points above the relegation zone after enduring a tough campaign, but surprisingly conceded the exact same amount of goals as Chelsea who finished fourth (54).

With the experience of leading his team plus staying calm under a lot of enemy fire, Dunk could be a great asset to Lampard's defence. This season, the centre-back averaged more tackles (1.1) and blocks (0.9) than Zouma, who had an average of 0.8 and 0.5 respectively (via WhoScored).

As Reece James becomes more and more involved in the first team, the England international could also serve as a mentor for the youngster.

Additionally, whatever price tag Brighton settle on will likely be an affordable one, leaving money left over to spend on another defender or new goalkeeper.

Do you think Chelsea should sign Lewis Dunk? Join the discussion in the comments below!