Chelsea’s recruitment should now focus on centre-backs
https://theathletic.com/1885351/2020/06/23/centre-backs-chelsea-koulibaly-upamecano-boateng-alaba-transfer-lampard/
If Chelsea truly have ambitions to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title next season, then surely they have to switch their attention in the transfer market from attack to defence.
Over £80 million of the budget has already gone on two fine signings who should provide and create goals in Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. Yet negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen are ongoing for another forward threat in Kai Havertz.
You have to wonder why.
Havertz is clearly a quality player and will bring even more firepower to Frank Lampard’s side, but surely a top centre-back has to be the main priority?
Leverkusen want as much as £90 million for Havertz. It is understandable. The 21-year-old Germany international has scored 12 goals and delivered six assists in the Bundesliga this season.
There will be Chelsea fans that want the club to add him to the squad regardless, to make the team’s attack the best form of defence. They would certainly be entertaining but anyone who watched the 2-1 away win over Aston Villa on Sunday would have been given yet another reminder about one of the current side’s most glaring weaknesses.
The manner in which a cross from Douglas Luiz exposed the back line for Kortney Hause to put the home side in front was an all too familiar sight. It wasn’t the only occasion — despite being a one-sided contest for the most part — that second-bottom Villa threatened in this fashion.
Chelsea are actively pursuing Leicester City’s England international Ben Chilwell to solve their concerns at left-back and doing that deal will take a further £50 million from the kitty at least. Even with a wealthy benefactor in owner Roman Abramovich, funds aren’t limitless and Financial Fair Play rules, despite UEFA postponing the break-even assessments until next season, have to be taken into account.
Head coach Lampard played for Chelsea with one of the best defenders the Premier League has seen in John Terry but the current group don’t have anyone close to that level.
All four do have their qualities: Antonio Rudiger is strong in the tackle, Andreas Christensen is good on the ball and wins possession with good timing, Fikayo Tomori has great pace and reads the game well, and Kurt Zouma is good in the air and won’t be bullied.
But all have their weaknesses, too. None of them communicates particularly well on the pitch and it shows in the goals-against column. Chelsea have only the eighth-best record in the Premier League, having conceded 40 times in their 30 games. It is why Lampard has regularly changed partnerships throughout the campaign.
You get the feeling each of the current quartet would benefit from having a domineering presence, the finished vocal product, alongside him. Liverpool were one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe but it took the purchase of Virgil van Dijk, along with a quality keeper Alisson, in successive 2018 windows to turn them into winners.
The problem is there aren’t many players of Van Dijk’s calibre in the game, never mind one that will be easy to prise away from their current club. But Chelsea surely have to look, and try.
In fairness, The Athletic has been aware of Lampard’s desire to improve this department from the outset. As early as the Champions League game away at Lille in October, he was telling those around him about the team being too small and that this was to their detriment at set pieces.
It is understood Chelsea have explored the possibility of acquiring David Alaba from Bayern Munich in recent months but were given short shrift. This does show, though, that the issue hasn’t been forgotten.
So, who else is there?
Alaba’s team-mate Jerome Boateng could do a job in the short term. He turns 32 in September, which doesn’t exactly fit Chelsea’s business model. However, he has played over 300 times for Bayern, earned 76 caps for Germany and will be relatively cheap given there is just a year left on his contract.
Chelsea could always return to Bayern’s Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig and make a move for Dayot Upamecano. Clearly, the two clubs are on good terms following the smooth negotiations over Werner.
Upamecano is valued at £54 million. He certainly has a lot of quality and is good on the ball but at 21, the Frenchman is still learning the game and so doesn’t fit as the experienced figurehead this piece refers to.
How about shopping in Serie A, a division known for its defending? The first name readers ask about is Kalidou Koulibaly (above) and for good reason. The Senegal international has built some reputation at Napoli and Chelsea came close to signing him four years ago.
They know from that saga how difficult negotiating with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis can be, although they did get him to sell midfielder Jorginho in summer 2018. Recently, De Laurentiis said he would consider an offer of £90 million for Koulibaly, which is some outlay given he turned 29 over the weekend and so, will have little sell-on value by the time of departure.
Like Koulibaly, Fiorentina’s rising star Nikola Milenkovic employs Fali Ramadani as his agent. This is significant because Ramadani has a good relationship with Chelsea.
Milenkovic would solve the height issue Lampard is concerned about — he is just under 6ft 5in tall and is a real asset at both ends of the pitch. As with Koulibaly, the 22-year-old will be very expensive to prise away.
The same goes for Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, 25. The Slovakian is valued by Inter coach Antonio Conte, a man who won’t be too inclined to do Chelsea any favours due to the manner of his departure from Stamford Bridge two years ago.
Chelsea could always look to Spain to see what’s available. Atletico Madrid are renowned for keeping things tight and their Uruguay international Jose Gimenez has quite a reputation. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old also has quite a sizeable release clause in his contract of £110 million.
After seeing the enigma David Luiz in action up close over the past decade, Chelsea may be reluctant to see another Brazilian guarding their penalty area but Sevilla’s Diego Carlos, who is said to interest Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool, is respected in La Liga for being a very solid player.
Sevilla winger Nolito describes him as “stronger than vinegar”. Such an attribute won’t come cheap — the 27-year-old’s release clause is worth £68 million.
There are no easy solutions but the Premier League’s most successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” and after his 13 triumphs at Manchester United, who can argue with him?
Chelsea, take note.
glad to see someone taking that rotter Merson to the woodshed