To say Antonio Conte is a happy man with the current crop of defenders at his call will be far from the truth. Right until summer transfer deadline day, the Italian tactician was still hoping Napoli would allow one of his top defensive targets Koulibaly leave for a moderate price. The Serie A club held on to the £50million price tag they slammed on the Senegalese till the end.
Conte had to settle for David Luiz eventually, and the Brazilian doesn’t look like the one to help solve all of Chelsea’s defensive conundrum. Before considering him or Koulibaly, Conte was very much keen to lure Leonardo Bonucci, his charge while with Italy and Juventus to the Stamford Bridge. But all plans fell through.
The central half is regarded as the best in his position, a reason why he also topped Guardiola’s defensive target list months ago. Conte might finally get his hands on his one-time jewel as the club’s owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly willing to break the bank in order to land Bonucci this winter.
But even at that, City and a couple of big sides will still make moves for his signature, while Juve won’t let him go easily. Chelsea cannot afford to miss out on the 29-year-old come January, and here are some reasons why.
He is the perfect match for David Luiz
Luiz has shown glimpses of the ball-playing properties Conte admires. But playing alongside the error-prone Cahill doesn’t quite cut it. He would do better alongside someone with like ideas.
Bonucci fits the bill and ticks all the boxes. In 5 games for the Old Lady this term, he has created 2 chances, averaged a pass accuracy of 88%, with the average length of those passes 24 meters. He hasn’t neglected his main duties and has averaged 7 defensive actions till date.
In Chelsea, only Luiz’s stats complement his. The former PSG man has averaged same number of defensive actions in 3 games for Chelsea. His attacking abilities have seen him record a shot accuracy of 33%. 2 chances created, an average pass accuracy of 89%, with their length 23 meters on an average are the testament to why the two could combine perfectly well.
He knows EXACTLY what Conte wants
The central defending duo going into the season Terry, and Cahill haven’t been able to produce the type of performances the coach would have wanted from them.
While the captain has been sidelined through injury and is not a long-term option, Cahill has failed to impress totally, and already has most errors (2) leading to goals this season.
Bonucci knows exactly what Conte wants, and it’s quite understandable why the club owner is reportedly willing to spend £60million, a club record fee and world record for a defender to reunite the two.
Their days together in Juventus produced trophies. They can repeat same feats in England.
Conte’s 3-man defence system needs Bonucci to PERFECTLY work
The Chelsea chief has experimented with his famous 3-man rearguard style, and it has been met with mixed reactions. Only Azpilicueta and Luiz are able to execute his plans well in such formations.
Bonucci will be the perfect fit to fill up the missing link. The Spaniard on the right, Luiz on the left and the Italian in the middle of the back 3. Definitely, a system that will take the EPL by storm. Having Alonso shuttle between the roles of a left back and left winger makes it a very feasible success.
With Bonucci in Chelsea’s backline, everything will fall in place, and challenging for the title for the remaining half of the season will take a new turn.