As we edge ever closer to the end of the transfer period, the activity regarding the fringe players of the top teams is expectedly growing in intensity. The latest such player to have been targeted by a couple of clubs is Arsenal’s Calum Chambers. And according to the fresh reports, Middlesbrough have pipped Hull City to a loan signing of Chambers. Shkodran Mustafi has passed his medical at Arsenal and a deal will be announced shortly and due to the Wenger’s inclination of keeping more than 4 centre-backs in the team, Chambers has unfortunately become the victim of the subsequent domino effect. It is suggested Middlesbrough were keen on a permanent deal for the youngster but Wenger’s reluctance to lose the player just yet resulted in a season-long loan deal.
After a sparkling season for the Saints, Chambers was touted as the next big thing and he made the subsequent big-money move to Arsenal. But his career has snagged comprehensively since then. Never quite consistent enough to guarantee first team action, the defender has been played in various positions as a stop-gap option during emergencies and it has harmed his development to a large extent. And apparently, the Gunners were adamant that the team gives some assurances of utilising the player in the central areas of the defence more often. Though it will be the prerogative of the manager after he gets the player, Chambers’s versatility will ensure his usefulness to the team in various positions.
Boro have been impressive in the market thus far and on the evidence of the 3 games till now, they can be confident about harbouring hopes of survival or even more this season. But the intensity and the competitive nature of the Premier League has forced the team managements into bolstering their squad in the light of injuries and the event of loss of form. As the opening day injury to Marten De Roon shows, there can be no guarantees regarding any player and this is what makes the signing so important.
And it provides an exciting opportunity for the player as well. He might not enjoy the sort of dominance he has got habituated to at Arsenal, with his team doing most of the pressing, but this will certainly be a huge learning curve for him. Criticised for not being able to maintain his concentration for the whole 90 minutes and on the verge of whiling away his talent, the exposure he is likely to get at Boro under pressure will only do good to Calum Chambers.
