After disastrous last season at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea appointed Antonio Conte as their next manager in the summer. Expectations are always big from you when you are the manager of Chelsea but from Conte, it was even higher because of Chelsea’s struggles in the last term. During Conte’s time at Juventus, the Old Lady established themselves as the undisputed dominant force in Italy and Chelsea fans must have demanded the same from the 47-year-old.
Well, Conte definitely has made a strong mark already in English football. There were a few hitches in his way, a 3-0 loss to rivals Arsenal being the biggest one. But, Conte has shown what a brilliant tactician he is after that defeat helping Chelsea win all their five games after that without conceding a single goal. Chelsea are second on the table now sitting just one point behind Liverpool and look like realistic title contenders.
However, the Blues do not have enough squad depth which might be damaging to their title chances. Conte should act in the January transfer window to bolster his squad to stay in the title race and here are three players they should go for.
Steven N’Zonzi
Kanté and Matic have been superb for the Blues this campaign. Conte is not using the duo in their natural defensive midfield roles but has given more of a complete role to the two. However, they do not have a solid cover for the duo with Cesc Fabregas being vulnerable defensively and John Obi Mikel being fruitless attacking wise.
Steven N’Zonzi would be an excellent signing for the Blues who would relish the central midfield role under Conte. The Sevilla star is a strong player with excellent defensive abilities as well as having an eye for a pass and is a tailor-made player for Conte’s system.
James Rodriguez
Chelsea have been scoring for fun of late the biggest reason behind that is the form of Costa and Hazard. However, the Blues do still need an x-factor in their team apart from Eden Hazard and James Rodriguez can bring exactly that. The Colombian is struggling for playing time at Real Madrid under Zidane and could be on his way out. The quality of the golden boy of Colombian football is undisputed and he could have a big success story at Chelsea under Conte.
Alessio Romagnoli
Chelsea have performed really well defensively since they switched to 3 at the back. However, John Terry could very well be on his way out of the club next summer and Gary Cahill’s performance earlier this season has also been questionable. It is evident that Chelsea need a quality central defender who can play a long-term role at the club and Alessio Romagnoli seems like a perfect choice.
The 21-year-old has been a regular for Milan this season and one of the best young players in the world. He is a ball-playing defender with an excellent ability to read the game and would be perfect for Conte’s system.
