Antonio Conte is intent on strengthening competition for Chelsea’s wing-backs given the importance of the position in his system. Already hot on the heels of Alex Sandro, The Blues have refused to blink in the face of Juventus’ skyrocketing valuation of the player and are ready to break the bank if need be.
While nowhere close to completion on the deal with Sandro, who would be a considerable upgrade over Marcus Alonso on the left flank, Chelsea have reportedly moved in on Real Madrid’s Danilo to provide cover to Victor Moses on the right. Danilo, an erstwhile teammate of Sandro at Porto, has struggled to hold down a place in Madrid’s first eleven and is angling for a move, replete with more first team opportunities.
Antonio Conte’s last season with Chelsea saw him persist with almost an unchanged team for the entire duration of the season since the defeat at Arsenal. Marcus Alonso and Victor Moses were permanent fixtures on either flank in the side barring injury layoffs which were thankfully few and far between. With Champions League duties resuming, the Italian can no longer ride on his luck with a select group of first-teamers and appreciates the need for substantial bench strength in order to go toe to toe with European giants.
It seems as if Antonio Conte wants to offset Chelsea’s troubles in acquiring a quality striker by flooding his team with attack-minded wing-backs, capable of turning up the heat whenever the team is on the attack. Boasting the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Hazard, Pedro and Willian in the team; if Chelsea can manage to pull off the signings of Sandro and Danilo, whoever is tasked with leading Chelsea’s lines next season is going to have his hands full with a supply line like that behind him.
Soon to turn 26, the Brazilian right-back as a testament to his versatility is capable of operating on the left flank as well. Down the pecking order at Real, with Dani Carvajal starting ahead of him, the defender has shown flashes of brilliance when given a crack at the first team. Excellent at holding on to the ball and playing crisp passes, the Brazilian doesn’t shy away from taking a shot on goal, as is evident from some of the goals he has scored during his time with Real and Porto.
Valued at £26m, Danilo also courted interest from Juventus, but the Old Lady’s plans of unveiling the player were put paid with the signing of Douglas Costa from Bayern Munich, as they are permitted to sign only one non-EU national.
Danilo and Morata, both courted by Chelsea, have travelled to the USA with Real Madrid’s preseason entourage and it remains to be seen whether the deals go through.
