If reports are to be believed, Italian midfielder, Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is currently plying his trade with mid-table Serie A side, Sassuolo, is one of the summer transfer targets of Premier League leaders, Chelsea. Though the 20-year old has a buy-back clause in his deal with his former club, AS Roma, it is expected that nothing can stop the midfielder from seeking greener pastures and taking on the challenges of the English Premier League.
The midfielder is currently in high demand among many top-flight clubs across Europe, but Antonio Conte might go all the way to convince the midfielder to join the Blues, given they will be having a gruelling 2017-18 season, and will require enough options to cover the midfield comprising Nemanja Matic, N’Golo Kanté and Cesc Fabregas.
Pellegrini, who plays as a central midfielder, has started in 17 Serie A matches for the club, apart from featuring in another 3 matches as a substitute. The player has found the back of the net 5 times while setting up another 4 for his teammates, which can be considered as excellent returns for a midfielder.
Standing in at 1.86 meters tall, the player will be adding height to the midfield, and can complement defensive midfielder N’Golo Kanté. Pellegrini is strong in the air, winning almost 2 aerial duels per game and has an average match rating of 7 on WhoScored.com.
With a pass accuracy rate of 76%, Antonio Conte may call on him to improve his passing skills, which is widely required to achieve success in English football. Through his performances, the player has been awarded 2 man of the match awards this season, once in Serie A and the other in UEFA Europa League.
Pellegrini is well known for his long-range shooting skills and set-piece abilities, but the player is also a good interceptor of passes and cuts off the opposition supply line. However, he has considerable problems with his discipline, having already been booked 4 times and sent off once over the course of the season. It would be one of the major areas where Conte would like him to improve.
With the diversity of positions the player can feature in, Chelsea would surely like to add him to their ranks, but one of the major problems is his age and Chelsea already have players of the same age for the same position in Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. With Europe a certainty next season, Conte may choose to opt for experience and Pellegrini may have to play on loan for another club, if he is snapped by Chelsea.
Statistics via WhoScored
