After lifting the title last season, Chelsea are one of the favourites to go all the way in at least two of the four competitions in England and in Europe next season. Antonio Conte has made a couple of tremendous additions to his squad from the previous season and will be confident going into this season’s first game this weekend.
However, he is still looking to make additions to the squad to make sure that he is well equipped for all the challenges this season and one name extensively linked with a move to the Bridge is Arsenal star, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.
The English international is into the final year of his contract at the Emirates and wants to quit the club due to lack of playing time and English rivals Liverpool and Manchester City are interested in his services alongside Chelsea.
Reports from the Mirror now claim that the English champions are ready to make a £35m bid for his services which could be enough to land him. However, the Daily Star has now released a story claiming that ‘the ‘Ox’ is ready to sign a new contract at the Emirates if his wage demands are met.
Early indications are that Arsenal will not cave in to his demands but Stamford Bridge might not be a bad club for Chamberlain to continue his career.
A bundle of energy that can last more than just 90 minutes, the 23-year old can walk into most squads in England but his versatility is what has kept him out of the first team at the Emirates. A midfielder by trait, Chamberlain has also played as an attacking winger and as a wing-back in recent times and none of those positions had first team vacancies at the Emirates.
However, the situation at the Bridge is also not too dissimilar as Conte has the likes of Cesc Fabregas as a backup for the first team French midfield duo for this season. Willian, Pedro and Hazard should hog the wings making it even difficult for the Arsenal man to establish himself in the first team.
But the former Southampton man can play as a wing-back, a position Chelsea are miserably weak in, and this is what might make this deal a success. Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso are the first choice wing-backs at the moment at the club and the ‘Ox’ could be more effective in this role in certain games.
At 23, he has enough time to establish himself at the highest stage but is the Bridge the right place for him?
