Chelsea considering January bid for out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Davies

Chelsea are reportedly considering a January bid for Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Davies. The 23-year-old left-back has fallen behind Danny Rose in the pecking order at White Hart Lane and is apparently attracting interest from Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Davies was a target for the Blues during the summer transfer window, according to ESPN. While the Welshman is primarily a fullback, he is also adept at playing on the left side of a three-man defence, which is where he impressed during Euro 2016.

Chelsea failed to sign Davies during the summer transfer window and instead agreed deals with Paris Saint-Germain and Fiorentina for David Luiz and Marcos Alonso respectively. However, Conte's interest in Davies has not subsided and Chelsea could launch a bid for the out-of-favour Spurs player in January.

Davies' ability to play in a three-man defence is particularly attractive to the Italian, who deployed a 3-5-2 while at Juventus. What's more, the Welshman's homegrown status is appealing to the Stamford Bridge club, who are determined to increase their domestic quota.

On the flip side, Tottenham are reluctant to lose the player and would be loathed to sell him to Chelsea, who they see as a direct rival. But their hand may have been somewhat weakened by the fact they recently handed Rose a new five-year deal at the club.

After signing the deal, Rose suggested he wanted to stay at Tottenham for the remainder of his career. "Everyone knows that the club is going in the right direction and I'm over the moon that I'll stay here until I'm an old man," the Tottenham left-back said. "At the moment I wouldn't wish for anything more than to play for Spurs for the rest of my career."