According to latest reports, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has identified Middlesbrough’s centre-half Ben Gibson as an ideal candidate to beef up the Blues’ back line next season. With a safe 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, the Italian has already started planning for the next season which is expected to be more different, challenging and more importantly, hectic for the London club.
Conte’s three-man defence has been a huge success this season but we are pretty certain that it won’t be a similar scenario next season (take Claudio Ranieri’s 4-4-2). The boss will have to craft a new setup to retain the form and the right defender can always adapt to a new role faster. Gibson has been impressive for Middlesbrough this season and could be one of the main reasons the Teesside club might just manage to avoid relegation.
Aitor Karanka’s men are known to be stubborn at the back, making it extremely difficult for opponents to find a crack in their compact defence and Gibson has been quintessential in all of it. His impressive displays have elevated his worth in the eyes of England manager Gareth Southgate and a national call-up might be on the cards.
Gibson’s Boro have conceded just 30 goals this season, which is the least among all the teams in the bottom half of the table and even lesser than the top six teams like Arsenal and Liverpool. Quite surprisingly, 18th placed Boro have conceded just one goal more than third-placed Manchester City.
The 24-year-old is a centre-half by nature, but can also play quite deftly in the left back’s role, an attribute that has attracted Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola. His versatility could come in pretty handy for the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss’ tactical execution. Having a big frame of 185cm, Gibson excels in holding the ball quite well and reading the game immaculately, qualities that have even led Chelsea to familiarise him with their former skipper John Terry.
A Boro academy product, Gibson broke into the first team in 2011, after he spent some loan stints away at Plymouth, York City and Tranmere Rovers before Boro gave him a permanent position at the back in 2013.
Gibson could be a brilliant option for Chelsea, who are likely to give more chances to Nathan Ake and Kurt Zouma next season with more competitions to take part in. And Conte’s nurturing would be the ideal ingredient needed for Gibson to reach the next level in the league.
