Antonio Conte is weighing up various options to add more strength to Chelsea’s defence and the latest player to be caught in the Italian’s radar is Mattia Caldara. The 22-year-old has been a regular in the side this season, making seven appearances.
The talented defender has many suitors and Chelsea are likely to face fierce competition from Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United, who are keeping tabs on the player, as per reports.
Caldara is one of those scoring defenders, who likes going forward for the set pieces. He has already scored 3 goals in his 7 appearances for the Italian side. He is also quite effective on the defensive side as he has won six tackles this season with a success rate of 67%. He has also made 19 interceptions, 31 clearances and five blocks, according to Squawka. The attributes reflect maturity way beyond his age.
Antonio Conte has been heaped with praise for his successful transformation of Chelsea’s defence from a 4-man backline to 3, which has revived the club from its faulty run of the previous season. However, Conte would be needing options as a backup for his back three, who have started every match since clicking and there is always a fear of burnout or injury with the Premier League gaining momentum.
Caldara’s shot accuracy is 75% on average and his passing accuracy is 82%. It pretty much makes him one of the ideal candidates, who has all the qualities that Conte admires. Caldara wins 58% of his average duels. His ball intercepting abilities are also commendable and he does not dive into tackles, which allows him to hardly make any defensive errors.
Chelsea are already out of the English League Cup. Conte had fielded John Terry with Cahill and Luiz at the back in that game, and the back line looked quite disoriented conceding twice. Old head John Terry is already out of favour and so is Branislav Ivanovic. This has led Conte to look outside and Caldara fits the bill perfectly.
Caldera is a 6ft 1inch and is pretty good in the air. He came through the academy at Atalanta and made his league debut back in 2013. The Italian also looks a good choice, who could adapt to the English Premier League playing style seamlessly.
After a miserable season last year, Chelsea are flying high this year under the new boss and are currently at the top of the Premier League table. Not playing in the Champions League has also helped their cause to a large extent, but with FA Cup starting soon, the clubs having squad depth will benefit hugely. Conte seems to be looking exactly at that.
