Chelsea have now officially parted ways with Antonio Conte after two seasons and it seems like they will bring in Maurizio Sarri to take charge of their squad at Stamford Bridge. In the meantime, the Blues hierarchy is looking to add new players to their side and a number of them have been linked with the London club. One such player now on their radar is Filip Benkovic.
A transfer target for the likes of Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, West Ham and Celtic, the 20-year old is regarded as one of the best youngsters on display in Croatia at the moment. Born and brought up in Zagreb, Benkovic started his senior career with Dinamo Zagreb, a club in his hometown. He broke into the senior side in 2015 as a teenager and has slowly established himself in the first team.
Last season, he was one of the first names on the team sheet for Zagreb, where he scored four goals in 25 league starts. He also plays for the Croatia U21s but is not too far away from breaking into the first team.
Standing at 6”4’, the 20-year old is a dominating presence at both ends of the field. He rarely misses a cross in his box and loves to dominate strikers, making him a hard man to play against. He is not afraid of throwing himself around and can get stuck into opponents when needed. He is also quick across the turf and is not easy to beat in a foot race.
Benkovic is not afraid of the physical aspect of the game and is a perfect fit for the Premier League. At just 20, he does not have enough exposure at the highest level but has the potential to be a superstar in the future and can be a decent acquisition for Chelsea.
Reports suggest that Chelsea will have to pay up to £25m for his services, which is not too expensive in this transfer market. However, they will have to fend off interest from a number of clubs around Europe.
The Blues have Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger as the best centre-backs at the club at the moment. David Luiz and Gary Cahill, though are options, are not expected to play every week while Cesar Azpilicueta is more suited as a right-back in a four-man backline.
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So Benkovic, though will have to fight for a place in the first team, will get his chances and could be a match winner for the Blues in the future. But do you think Chelsea can land the Croat this summer?
