Chelsea are probably going away with the title this season as the Blues successfully held on to their cushioning 10-point lead this week over other title contenders with just 12 matches still to go. But, Antonio Conte’s men cannot rub off the Leicester City tag labelled upon them by many as the Blues rides at the back of a full proven unchanged eleven who has little to worry about fatigue or injuries with no hectic schedules.
It is the exact Foxes story of last season; whose fit team went on an unrealistic run till the end of the season. They too won the league by 10 points. However, the Italian boss is clever enough to know that next season will be different with new challenges to take into the equation and he has already started preparations of increasing the squad depth.
And as per reports, Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a move for Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, who has been a hot target for former Italian giant AC Milan. Although there have been reports that the 26-year-old Argentine has already signed a deal with Milan for a £21 million move, Chelsea are believed to be wanting to out-splash them at the last moment. Their Champions League stature will definitely help in the deal.
A centre-back by nature, Musacchio is extremely disciplined and hardly sets a foot wrong. He joined Villarreal B from Argentine side, River Plate, back in 2009 and has since come up the ranks of the La Liga side. The 2015-16 season went horribly for him as he suffered from a fractured tibia, but the adamant defender fought back his way into the first team establishing himself as one of the first team players.
Although injuries haven’t really let him stay alone, his brilliant displays, whenever he has been on the pitch, has earned him rave reviews. His talent is undoubted as his ability to time his tackles can hardly be matched. As per Bleacher Report, Musacchio has been shoulder-to-shoulder with Chelsea’s David Luiz and Garry Cahill in defensive attributes.
In his 13 appearances, so far, Musacchio has made 1.8 tackles per game on an average compared to Luiz’s 1.2 and Cahill’s 1.3; he has 1.8 interceptions per game to Luiz’s 1.9 and Cahill’s 1.2; his passing accuracy is 81.8% which is same as Luiz’s 81.8% and lesser than Cahill’s 88.7%.
Chelsea are looking to dispose of John Terry next season and with Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake as potential options at the back-three, Musacchio will get enough time to settle into English football.
