Town and Southampton are eyeing Marseille central defender CJ Egan-Riley, according to a report in France.
Manchester-born Egan-Riley joined OM last summer after his Burnley contract came to an end but his spell in France has been a disappointment having made only eight starts and three sub appearances in Ligue 1.
As a result, the 23-year-old is expected to move back to England in the summer and, according to Foot-Sur7, the Blues and Southampton are closely monitoring his situation.
Egan-Riley came through the youth system at Manchester City before joining Burnley for £400,000 in the summer of 2022.
Having spent time on loan at Hibernian and with PSV’s reserves side in the Netherlands, the six-foot-tall centre-half was a regular in the Clarets’ defence as they won promotion to the Premier League in 2024/25 while conceding only 16 goals and picking up 100 points. Egan-Riley was named in the EFL’s Championship Team of the Season.
That summer, he played alongside former Blues winger Omari Hutchinson as the England U21s won Euro 2025 in Bratislava, having previously played for the Young Lions at U15, U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels, and with the Republic of Ireland U16s.
Meanwhile, the Blues may well have been keen observers of Millwall's play-off semi-final exit to Hull City last night, the Tigers winning 2-0 at the Den, having made offers for Lions’ winger Femi Azeez in January.
It would be little surprise if Town tested the South Londoners’ resolve again over the close season. Azeez is contracted until the summer of 2028.
Elsewhere, the Blues are claimed to be among a number of clubs showing interest in Huddersfield youngster Cameron Ashia, 21.
The forward, who was previously with Derby County's academy, scored six goals in 10 starts and 21 sub appearances for the Terriers in 2025/26.