Antonio Conte’s Chelsea are finally on the rise and how! Despite a few poor results earlier this season, including a 3-0 loss to rivals Arsenal, Conte has displayed his tactical know how to make Chelsea bounce back. After five successive Premier League wins without conceding a single goal, Chelsea are now second in the table, just one point behind Liverpool and look like realistic title contenders.
The Blues breezed past Everton this Saturday with all their attackers putting on quite a show against a flaccid Everton defence. The transfer window opens in two months’ time and even though Chelsea are performing admirably, they are always going to be linked with players.
TalkSPORT claims that Chelsea target Steven N’Zonzi has stated that the Blues’ interest in him is flattering from which we can say that he will find it hard to turn down the Blues if their interest materialises to an official bid.
So, Steven N’Zonzi to Chelsea, will it be a good deal or bad deal for the Blues?
The Frenchman is a defensive midfielder but one of those very few holding midfielders of the game who demonstrate serious physical strength and aerial ability as well as composure on the ball. He ticks each and every box of what you expect from a combative midfielder.
As you expect from a player who boasts a frame of 6 ft 3 in, the Frenchman is a force in the air and his 3.1 aerials won every game this season speaks for it. The Frenchman plays a key role for Sevilla with his defensive ability and has averaged 3 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 0.8 clearances every game this season.
The Sevilla star is not just a destroyer in midfield but also a brilliant passer. The Frenchman’s 89.1% passing accuracy along with 0.8 key passes every game and 5.6 long balls played speak volumes about his ability to pick out a pass. Blessed with brilliant concentration and an ability to read the game, the 27-year-old is arguably at his physical peak.
In the 3-4-3 system Conte has deployed at Chelsea recently, Kanté and Matic do not play their natural defensive midfield roles. They both play have the license to burst forward knowing that the other one will stay behind. That is exactly the reason why Matic has five Premier League assists to his name this campaign.
Right now the duo are doing so well but Chelsea will struggle if either goes down with injuries with neither Mikel nor Fabregas capable enough to fill in their boots.
With the kind of season Chelsea are having this term, they should be able to qualify for Europe next season and if they stick to their winning formula i.e. 3-4-3, they will need more players to compete with Kanté and Matic and N’Zonzi is a player who can do that, if not dethrone either one of them. It looks like a no-brainer for Chelsea to move for the former Stoke City midfield enforcer.
