Maresca could do with more defensive optionsplaceholder image
Maresca could do with more defensive options | Getty Images
Chelsea could get creative to improve their back line for the second half of the season.
Heading into January, it’s unclear if Chelsea have the means to improve their squad further, with the Blues having to be careful on the back of a summer fine from UEFA in relation to their big spending in recent years.
Chelsea may need to be clever if they want to improve their squad, and one area they could do with improving is the centre-back spot. Enzo Maresca wanted to strengthen the centre-back spot after losing Levi Colwill to injury during the summer, but the board convinced him that he would have to look within his current squad for answers.
He has, but Chelsea have had mixed results at defence, with Maresca flicking between options like Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana, and the latter has struggled mightily, most recently disappointing in the Newcastle game.
The Anselmino option
With a January signing looking unlikely, one of the possible remedies involves recalling a loan player, and it’s reported by GOAL that Aaron Anselmino could be one of the players Chelsea look to bring in. The 20-year-old is currently on loan with Borussia Dortmund, but the Blues are said to have a clause that allows them to recall the Argentine if he does not make a certain number of appearances before January.
Anelmino has only made five league appearances, and that is said to be below the threshold. That could allow Chelsea to add extra depth to their back-line, though, it would be a gamble for Maresca in some ways, given Anselmino can’t get in the Dortmund team, so there is no guarantee he can compete for game time at Chelsea,
Maresca said of the youngster when the club signed the Argentine early in the year: “He’s another talent, another good player. Now the most important thing is that he arrives here, adapts himself, finds a house, and settles in the right way.
"Then we need to give him time because when you come from the other part of the world, you need to adapt. You need to see a new world, a new culture. For sure we are going to try to help him to adapt as soon as possible.”
On the flip side to Anselmino’s current struggles in Germany, Maresca does have an ability to get the best out of young players, and at worst, it would be another option for Chelsea to keep current starters on their toes, with the back-line needing to step things up if the team is to secure a top four finish.
Chelsea are on course to manage that feat, but with the likes of Liverpool breathing down their necks, Maresca is going to need to fine-tune going into the second half of the campaign.
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