Londoners urgently need to fill a large gap in their scheme.
Chelsea are looking to build a new team and are actively closing the holes in the system. The attack received reinforcements in the form of Raheem Sterling, who can be considered one of the brightest deals of this transfer summer. However, even before the transfer window began, the Blues had another main goal of the preseason: to sign a very strong central defender. He is very strong.
Because overnight, Chelsea lose two important defensive players at the same time: Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen. The German alone has played 34 Premier League games since the opening minutes of last season. If you do not find a replacement right now and a player who is ready to play first team immediately and solve serious problems, then no purchase from Sterling will compensate for all possible losses due to defensive errors. We analyze the rumors about Chelsea and the team’s potential new defenders to understand who the Blues are better off signing and who are closest to signing.
Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)
The Dutchman has been at Juventus since joining Ajax in 2019. In three seasons in Turin he made 117 appearances. Last season he played 2,675 minutes, as a starter in 29 Serie A games, scoring three goals and providing an assist. This is one of the best options for Chelsea in terms of second floor play. Last season, on average, he won four horse martial arts per game. He also averaged 1.1 tackles per game, 0.7 blocked shots, 0.8 interceptions and 3.1 takedowns. For the game, he averages 54.5 passes with 89% accuracy.
Disciplinary statistics are also not in doubt: he earned two yellow cards. As for injuries, he has only missed 26 games in the last five years due to health problems. The age of the 22-year-old also speaks in favor of him: for Chelsea this could be an investment for years to come.
There is a rumor that De Ligt himself is not opposed to moving to Chelsea, but Juventus want to get the most out of a possible deal, which is to get around 65 million pounds. And Chelsea are unable to lower this price. In addition, a competitor appeared in the person of Bayern, who began contacts with de Ligt.
Jules Kunde (Seville)
Chelsea have been watching Kunde for a long time, not daring to take serious action. And the French grew and grew in price, raising it with his game. Since joining Sevilla in 2019, Kunde has made 95 La Liga appearances, 32 of which last season. That’s 2738 minutes of play. Kunde is inferior in the game with the head of de Ligt: on average only 2.4 aerial duels are successful per La Liga game. At the same time, he makes 1.3 tackles per game, 0.7 interceptions, 0.6 blocks and the removal figure is the same: 3.1. On average, Kunde makes 65.6 passes per game with 89% accuracy.
But you have to keep in mind that Jules, unlike de Ligt, not only plays strictly in the center of the defense, but sometimes also on the right wing. This leaves an imprint on the style of play and statistics. Kunde scored two goals and provided two assists last season. Kunde’s age is also good: he is only 23 years old. But with discipline everything is worse: the Frenchman received two red cards last season.
Kunde was Chelsea’s priority last year, but Londoners have shifted their focus a bit this summer. The player is ready for the change, but Sevilla have not yet received any real offers for him, according to Marca. The Frenchman is estimated at 55 million pounds. Barcelona are watching it too, but they have their own monetary restrictions. Kunde is likely to be an emergency fallback for Chelsea.
Nathan Ake (Manchester City)
You can try to reunite Sterling and Ake in a new club. Additionally, Nathan spent just 921 minutes on the pitch in the Premier League in 14 games with the Citizens last season. This means that Ake’s stats also carry slightly less weight than the other players on this list. But it can be seen that he wins an average of 2.6 aerial duels per game, performs 1.1 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, 0.4 blocked punches and 1.5 takedowns. He completes 61 passes per game with 91% accuracy.
The former Chelsea player managed to score twice in a few games last season and received no cards Premier League. And age – 27 – is the most optimal for a defender to flourish. Only Ake’s injuries can confuse him, who missed 27 games in all competitions in the 2020/21 season and spent 188 days out of the game since August 2017.
Chelsea’s desire to return Ake became known late last month. The Dutchman is a graduate of the Blues, which he joined at the age of 16 and moved to Bournemouth five years ago. City Ake is worth £ 50 million, but they are reluctant to sell Nathan, who is a practical reserve player. Citizens will have to find a replacement for him before selling.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Naples)
Perhaps there is no central defender in the world who has been the subject of more transfer market rumors in recent years than Koulibaly. Almost every summer, it definitely gets paired somewhere and the chords seem to be close to completion. But each time Koulibaly stays in Napoli, where he spent almost ten years. We do not deviate from tradition: Chelsea are interested in Kalidou.
Last season, in 27 Serie A games, Koulibaly played 2,406 minutes. Interestingly, despite all his external grandeur, he only won 1.8 aerial duels per game on average. But at the same time he has 1.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 3.1 kicks and 0.9 blocks. He scored three goals and three assists last season. He averages 60.8 passes per game with 87% accuracy.
Disciplinary indicators do not raise big questions: five yellow cards and one red. But with injuries going forward, the 31-year-old player could have problems. In the past two and a half years he has missed 31 games due to health problems.
Italian mass media Chelsea are said to have had preliminary talks with Koulibaly. Kalidou’s contract with Napoli expires in 2023, which could be an incentive for this type of negotiations. For now, De Ligt and Ace are higher on Tuchel’s preference list, but Chelsea’s Koulibaly could theoretically get a cut.
Milan Skriniar (Inter)
The 27-year-old has played for Inter consistently since arriving in 2017. He has made at least 32 league appearances in each of his five seasons at the club. In the past, for example, he has 35 games as a starter-Skrinjar has spent 3150 minutes on the pitch, that is, he is an unconditional player in the Milanese base.
He averaged 1.3 tackles per game, 0.7 steals, won 1.5 aerial duels, blocked 0.7 shots and had 2.5 takedowns. But the accuracy of the passes is particularly striking in the number of matches – 93 percent. At the same time, on average, he has 60 passes per game. He only received three yellow cards last season and scored three goals. Additionally, the iron Slovak hasn’t missed a single match due to injury in the past six years.
Skrinjar is often brought into Chelsea’s sphere of interest, but the Londoners haven’t made any offers yet. At the same time there were preliminary contacts with Inter. Although in Milan they made it clear that they would not let the defender go. Established good relations between the clubs can help, as does Chelsea’s willingness to pay £ 64m for Skrinjar. But it wanders PSGwho has already started bidding. The amount of 52 million pounds from the Parisians “Inter” has so far refused.
