Aston Villa's need became urgent after they agreed a £51m deal to sell Konsa to Arsenal. Adarabioyo is one of several options under consideration at Villa Park, but Chelsea are now ready to listen to offers for the 28-year-old, who also has interest from Marseille, Benfica and Sevilla. Marseille are understood to have made the first contact with Chelsea over a potential deal.
Adarabioyo played under Xabi Alonso throughout pre-season until being left out of the squad for last weekend's game against Real Sociedad, a sign of his uncertain standing at Stamford Bridge. Benfica have gone further than most, pushing Chelsea for financial details over a possible reunion with Marco Silva, who managed Adarabioyo during a productive spell together at Fulham.
Silva, now in charge in Lisbon, is already closing in on signing another of his former Fulham players, João Palhinha, from Bayern Munich.
Chelsea are understood to be open to letting a number of players leave before the transfer deadline, and Adarabioyo — popular in the dressing room but squeezed out by the club's defensive reshuffle — is one of those now expected to depart. Villa, who have already strengthened elsewhere this summer with the arrivals of Matteo Ruggeri from Atlético Madrid and Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham, see Adarabioyo as a like-for-like replacement for Konsa given his experience and physical profile at 6ft 5in.
Whether the Premier League proves the deciding factor remains to be seen, with Villa's participation in the Champions League this season potentially giving Unai Emery's side an edge over their European rivals in the race for his signature.
Adarabioyo made 29 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea last season and had looked set for an increased role under new head coach Alonso before his sudden absence from the matchday squad.
Chelsea's willingness to sanction a sale comes amid a wider defensive reshuffle at Stamford Bridge that has also seen the club field enquiries for Axel Disasi and Benoît Badiashile, with Adarabioyo now considered one of the more likely departures before the transfer deadline despite his previous standing in the squad.