Tiemoue Bakayoko says he is not afraid of the increase in competition for places at Chelsea if Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater arrives.
Chelsea have reportedly upped their offer to £32 million for Drinkwater as they seek to give their squad greater strength in depth with both a domestic and European challenge to face this season.
Drinkwater formed an effective partnership with N'Golo Kante as Leicester won the Premier League title in 2015-16, and would be reunited with his former teammate at Stamford Bridge.
But Bakayoko, a summer arrival from Monaco, says the England international's addition would be positive for both Antonio Conte's team and even himself.
"I'm not afraid of any player," the France international told SFR Sport. "You can't start out being defeatist. You need competition in every team. It can only make you improve.
"There weren't a lot of us in midfield for all the competitions that we have. We needed another midfielder to reinforce the team, so it's a very good thing he joins us."
Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare said earlier this month he feared the club would receive an "acceptable bid" for Drinkwater before the close of the window.