Stamford Bridge hasn’t seen many high-profile players coming in during the last few transfer windows, which is very un-Chelsea like. Roman Abramovich has always believed in bringing in big names whenever a crisis has risen on-field, a trend which Manchester United diligently follow now. However, since their shocking slump last season that ended with them finishing tenth in the Premier League, the Blues haven’t quite been themselves lately.
Although the summer transfers last year had decent buys in Marcos Alonso, N’Golo Kante and David Luiz, they were nothing compared to the huge names of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, which turned a lot of heads. Aiming to get back their mojo in the transfer market, Chelsea are eyeing a sensational bid for Barcelona centre-half Gerard Pique, as per reports.
The Spanish defender earlier had a brief spell with Manchester United in the 2007-08 season, after which he made a move to the Spanish giants Barcelona. After nine glorious seasons at Camp Nou, the 29-year-old is apparently unsettled with the Catalans and is looking for a new club. And Spanish media believes that he is eyeing a move to England again.
His decision to move out of the club hasn’t gone down well with his fellow players and he has grown to be an unpopular figure in the dressing room. The Blues will welcome him with open arms if a move is possible. Conte has his own concerns regarding the thin defence Chelsea are betting on at the moment and who could be a better option than Gerard Pique to bolster your back line with?
At 29, Pique is hugely experienced and is still at his peak which could last well over a couple of more years. The Barcelona youth product now has 421 games under his belt, where he has scored 39 goals.
He has won all possible trophies at the highest level with Barcelona and Spain- the UEFA Champions league, World Cup, Euro Cup and is even a Premier League winner with Manchester United in the 2007-08 season. At 193cm, he has a big enough frame to cope with the aerial threats of the Premier League and his beautifully timed tackles will make Chelsea’s defence unbreakable.
Pique is known for his immaculate passing from the deep, something which Conte loves to see. Although injuries have thwarted his current season, he still has a 43% successful tackling rate and 90% passing accuracy.
Conte is desperately looking at options to bolster his three-man defence as they plan for a hectic season next campaign after more or less confirming a Champions League spot this year, and Pique would definitely be a level up.
