French sensation Thomas Lemar broke into the big stage of football after a fantastic last season at Monaco. The left-footed attacking midfielder, who can also play as a winger, scored 13 goals and created 14 more in 52 appearances last season. The French winger who was a star player in the free-flowing Monaco team last year created 106 chances alone for the Ligue 1 champions.
According to reports, Lemar was very close to leaving Monaco this summer. The French champions oversaw a mass exodus of players including star footballers like Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko. Lemar was close to a move to England, according to Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev. It was Arsenal that came really close to sealing a deal for the Frenchman.
With Alexis Sanchez set to leave for Manchester City, Arsenal looked to bring in another winger to replace the Chilean. A bid for £92m was made. However, the deal that began in the eleventh hour was scrapped by Monaco and subsequently, Arsenal refused to let go of Alexis without signing a replacement.
Chelsea have managed to get their struggling season under control to some extent this year. The Blues played some glorious football last year after the switch to a 3-4-3 but the loss of Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic meant that the team dynamic changed. Moreover with Willian still to repeat his form of the past and Pedro looking extremely passive and inconsistent in all his games this year, Conte had to switch to a 3-5-2 to find some balance in the team.
Young Charly Musonda still has not adapted to life at West London and first-team football continues to evade him. It has left Conte short on attacking wingers with Eden Hazard the only winger delivering up to his usual standards. Conte will want to bring in Lemar to add that variety and attacking threat which was a lot more prevalent in the 3-4-3.
Should Lemar make a move to the West London club, he will feature in a top three along with Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard, a trio that would drive terror into the hearts of any Premier League defence.
The Stamford Bridge faithful will be dreaming of a possible combination play between Hazard and Lemar and the duo on their day can rip apart defence to shreds. If Chelsea were to get Lemar on their roster, Conte will be expected to have a fair crack at the Champions League trophy, a prize that has averted the English clubs since Chelsea last won it back in the 2011-12 season.
