Chelsea To Sign A Defender And A Striker – Antonio Conte’s Ideal Transfer Window Explored
Chelsea football club have had a fine season so far, if not compared to the likes of Manchester City. A spot in the Champions League last 16, a semi-final berth in the League cup and a 3rd place stay in the Premier League table with 39 points, 10 worse off than what they had this time last season simply means they have a lot of positives to take on a large scale.
With European distractions taken into account and players getting tired, the Blues dropping points back in the league and rotation of the squad was bound to happen. Overall, one could say that the Italian mastermind has kept his players together in spite of the fallout with the management and unhappiness in the summer transfer window. They really seem to be responding to him whenever there’s any thorn in their way.
One major difference is that the Champions have faltered and stumbled against the clubs outside top 6-7. Last season, they brushed these sides away with ease and hence attained 90 points just from wins. They lost just five games, one to Manchester United, one to Spurs, one to Arsenal, one to Liverpool and one after they claimed the title. This time around, they have dropped points right from game one. The Pensioners have also lost to Crystal Palace and West Ham this season.
To stop these faulty performances and push for a better finish to the season, let’s analyse what Antonio Conte could do in the transfer window to make it an ideal one.
Firstly, Conte doesn’t trust the services and fundamentals of Michy Batshuayi at all. The Belgian is barely preferred by his boss in the absence of Alvaro Morata, after a few blank performances. Despite some heroics off the bench, his inconsistency doesn’t please Conte. Rumours suggested that he could be out on loan, which simply means Chelsea need to find a backup striker to reduce the goalscoring burden of Morata.
Also to mention, with nothing to take away from Pedro, Hazard and Willian, they are skilled players who understand each other’s movement and game, pass around well, switch positions and are capable of destroying defences but when Morata is absent, there is no focal point to feed the ball to or aim at. Some players lined up for this are Sturridge and Christian Benteke.
Next up, it is reportedly said that Kenedy could be out on a loan deal which leaves Marcos Alonso as the only left wing back. Conte is a keen admirer of full-back Alex Sandro and almost landed him this past summer. In January too, he could be behind the talented left-back, with more cash to splash. Alonso really needs a backup and his lack of quickness is sometimes visible when the schedule is tight.
Rest, their midfield is well packed and so are their front men on the sides. Another area they could focus on is the central defence. David Luiz’s injury is not clearly spoken about in the press conferences and Christensen has had a lot to do at the heart of the defence. Ampadu has shown an unbelievable amount of maturity at just 17 but isn’t really ready to play regularly week in week out.
Verdict
So to sum it all up, they desperately need to sign a striker and a left-back. A centre-back would do the Blues a world of good too. To compete in the Champions League and go a presentable distance or win a competition like the FA Cup, the Italian tactician needs to do the above without any hesitation.