Chelsea have been linked with a move for Lazio defender Stefan De Vrij. The Dutchman has been heavily linked with Liverpool for some time now but it appears that Chelsea and Manchester United are ready to weigh in on the deal making it a three-way race to land the Lazio star.
De Vrij’s contract is set to expire this summer making him a lucrative player in this inflated transfer market. However, the Italian side is confident of getting De Vrij to sign an extension albeit with a release clause of around £20 million; another nominal amount in today’s market. The Premier League trio could be given further competition by Juventus who are also interested in De Vrij’s situation but the Dutchman reportedly would prefer a move to England.
De Vrij who came into the limelight early, made his professional debut back in 2009 for Feyenoord as a 17-year old. The Dutch defender went on to make 135 appearances and scored 6 goals in the process before moving to Lazio for an undisclosed fee.
After impressing in the Holland team that finished runners-up in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Dutch defender completed his move to Lazio and has played for them ever since. The 1.90m tall centre-back is comfortable on the ball has made close to a 100 appearances for the club.
The situation at Chelsea has turned from worrying to woeful in the last few weeks. The Blues are facing the prospect of yet another post-title campaign gone horribly wrong. Chelsea lost their last two matches against comparatively easier opponents in Bournemouth and Watford by score lines of 3-0 and 4-1. These defeats came on the back of a very average run of results and have now made everyone question the manager’s capability to get the best out of his players.
The defence has been questioned time and time again this season with the likes of Gary Cahill and David Luiz proving to be the culprit on multiple occasions. David Luiz has done himself further damage by getting into a rift with Antonio Conte; a spat that has seen the Brazilian spend plenty of time on the sidelines. It is widely believed that Cahill is well past is prime and the Chelsea captain has been shielded of his defensive frailties owing to the three-man back system employed by Conte.
In such a situation, a new defender would certainly help stabilize the defence and also bring in some fresh blood to a team that has completely fallen off its wagon. However, with another three months to go before any deal can take place, it would be silly to rule out the Blues current crop of players from turning things around.
