Chelsea have approached Brighton for Lewis Dunk.

The Times says they have been told to cough up £50million for Dunk.

The Blues are looking for reinforcements in defence and see the Seagulls centre-back as a viable alternative to Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen.

Frank Lampard's side have struggled at the back but have a big budget to work with after their transfer ban.

And they have been told to dig deep if they want to sign the defender, who would cost them £50m.

Another option could be a player-plus-cash deal if any of their players wanted to be guaranteed first-team football on the South Coast.