Chelsea look set to carry on with their winning template, in keeping the 3-4-3 formation for the coming season. The Blues are hot on the heels of Alex Sandro, looking to strengthen their wing-back options. Marcus Alonso’s absence versus Manchester United away last season saw Chelsea capitulate rather meekly to a 0-2 loss at the wee end of the campaign.
Alonso and Moses’ defensive frailties were also capitalised on, by Tottenham in the London derby at White Hart Lane resulting in a 0-2 loss, with Dele Alli nodding home twice to deny Chelsea a record-breaking Premier League run of victories.
Antonio Conte seems to have learnt from his team’s weaknesses last season and has prioritised the wing-back position.
As a testament to their seriousness, should the Alex Sandro transfer go through, at £60m, he would eclipse Fernando Torres (£50m) as Chelsea’s most expensive transfer, albeit shortly, with Lukaku reportedly to follow.
As cover for Victor Moses, who had to play through injury in the latter part of last season due to inadequate bench strength in his position, Chelsea are looking into TSG Hoffenheim’s Jeremy Toljan.
The 22-year old impressed for Germany in the recently concluded European Championship with an especially eye-catchy display against England in the semi-final. He is an incredibly versatile player with an inherent positional sense, capable of playing both at left-back and right-back. Featuring 20 times for Hoffenheim last season, the German full-back, equally comfortable playing in the midfield, helped the club secure Champions League football.
Mentored by the precocious Julian Nagelsmann, he’s the sort of player that would fit right in at Conte’s system. The Italian, known for nurturing young talent and bringing out the best in his players could help turn Toljan into a serious talent to look out for in the near future.
With Napoli also interested in the defender, Chelsea has to move fast if they want to conclude the sale. At his age, Toljan is a phenomenal talent and could be valued at around £50m in a year or two. Standing at 6’, the German is a force to reckon with and could prevent Chelsea from being bullied by the immensely physical English sides.
To compete on multiple fronts and successfully steer the team during periods of fixture congestion, Chelsea need a bigger squad with enough quality on the bench in order to stand a chance against European giants viz. Real Madrid, Bayern and the likes.
