A month back Manchester United were touted to be putting the finishing touches on the move which would have seen Victor Lindelof move to the club for £38m and add more depth to the backline. Some technicalities got in the way and we saw the move get postponed.
And while the reports had resurfaced, they have brought along with them the news of Chelsea trying to hijack one of their now well-known deals.
Chelsea continued on their seemingly destined title march as they saw off a surprisingly sprightly Hull City 2-0 and made it 15 wins in 16 games with a minor blip against the high-flying Spurs sandwiched in between. But with the rest of the teams not looking capable of launching a sustained challenge to dethrone Chelsea at the top, other than any drastic change of scenario, the Blues look like favourites for the title.
But while people are understandably impressed by the balance in the team and the competent defence and attack it is a fact that Chelsea have been extremely lucky regarding the absence of injuries and their players have been on their best behaviour, which is partly down to their manager’s approach.
Conte has been lucky in the fact that his 3 defenders Azpilicueta, Luiz and Cahill have been impeccable so far. They have been in good nick, have gelled well and have been injury-free thus far. But there is no guarantee that all of the above will stand through till the end of the season.
Other than the above-mentioned players, the other notable central defenders are Zouma and Terry and to an extent Ivanovic. While Zouma has stagnated lately and is not high on the manager’s preferred list, Ivanovic and Terry are nearing their end at Chelsea.
Hence, reports linking them to Victor Lindelof makes perfect sense. Born in the Swedish city of Västerås, Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf spent his youth career at local clubs IK Franke, Västerås IK and Västerås SK before moving to the Portuguese capital. Initially starting his career for the U-19 team, the Swede made his first team debut on October 19, 2013, in a 1-0 Portuguese Cup victory over CD Cinfães.
His biggest strength which he offers to the team is his versatility. Although primarily a central defender, he has excelled at both right back and in the central defensive midfield position. Lindelof is also known to be rough and tough in addition to possessing an abundance of energy and boasts of sudden acceleration over short distances.
But his decision making has been scrutinised in the past and that is something which has to be bettered if he is to shine in England. Under Conte, Lindelof can well become one of the best in the business in the future.
