Huddersfield Town are among the Championship clubs keen on signing Trevoh Chalobah and they want to secure him on a permanent deal from Chelsea.
The 20-year-old is highly rated at Stamford Bridge but a permanent deal could be struck regardless as he has less than two years remaining on his contract.
Chelsea do have the option to loan Chalobah instead, but they would also try to extend his contract before sending him out for another season.
Huddersfield are trying to refresh their squad following their relegation from the Premier League under Jan Siewert and they were impressed by Chalobah's performances on loan at Ipswich Town last season.