Chelsea have been relatively quiet this January window. It is not a huge surprise considering the fact that the Blues are on the top of the pile and lead the chasing pack by quite a distance. They have won 16 out of the last 17 games and that is a tremendous record given the increasing quality of the Premier League teams. And it is even more commendable as, Conte, a newcomer to the Premier League has achieved that with little fuss, thus re-establishing his class by getting to grips with the English game in no time.
Chelsea are mainly comprised of the same group of players who had limped to a 10th place finish last season and with a couple of subtle changes in personnel and a tweak in formation, he has worked wonders.
But we have to mention that while Chelsea are playing brilliant football, a number of other factors, namely their hard work and focus, are helping them. Conte has been extremely lucky regarding the situation surrounding the fitness of his players. He has lost no one to a lengthy layoff and they have been also lucky regarding suspensions and the form of his players.
With the intensity and the competitive nature of the league at an all-time high, there cannot be any guarantees regarding the availability of the players throughout the season. Chelsea have a closely-knit group but their depth in quality is not up to the mark.
While the defence and midfield will certainly get bolstered in due course, they have been strongly linked with a shock move for the £30m-rated Celtic striker on deadline day.
While there was a huge controversy regarding Diego Costa and a potential move to China, it has died down and the player has supposedly sorted out his difference with the manager. But question marks still remain about the level of success of Batshuayi’s time at Chelsea and the player’s frustration at being left on the bench in every match has been publicly documented.
Hence, Chelsea’s reported interest in Dembele makes a bit of sense. Moussa Dembele offers an exciting option and after his excellent start to the season for Celtic, he’ll be brimming with confidence and the will to perform. He certainly is capable of producing the goods at a higher level and Celtic’s game against Manchester City was proof enough that the lad is not lacking in ability or confidence.
He has all the attributes one can hope for in a striker but his best trait is his terrific finishing ability. His movement in the box is full of guile and his speed and change of direction has left many a defender flat-footed.
He stands at 6’ feet and is physical and extremely good in the air. He is full of energy and will fit in well under the stewardship of Conte, to whom he will be offering a drastically different option to what he has at his disposal now. His modest earnings will also get a significant raise and if Chelsea does agree to cough up the asking price, there are not a lot of reasons why this transfer won’t go through before the end of the deadline.
