Chelsea are now showing concrete interest in signing a "superb" Premier League star this summer, and a proposal has already been made.
Blues keen on signing new defender after Leeds draw
Liam Rosenior has made a promising start to life as Chelsea boss, winning seven of his opening ten matches, but the former Strasbourg manager admitted he was frustrated by his side throwing away a two-goal lead against Leeds United on Tuesday night.
Rosenior said: "Two key moments in the game that we don't take care of. We don't stay calm. How the play gets there, we make a few poor decisions in the way we press and we give away a penalty."
It was a particularly poor night for Josh Acheampong, with the 18-year-old receiving a SofaScore match rating of 5.8, the second lowest of any player, after making an error leading to a goal.
With the Cobham graduate just 19-years-old, he is still very inexperienced, and if the Blues are going to start competing for major honours next season and beyond, they may need to bring in a new centre-back in the summer.
Acheampong
According to a report from Tutto Juve (via Sport Witness), Chelsea are now showing concrete interest in signing AFC Bournemouth star Marco Senesi, who is set to be available on a free transfer at the end of the season.
With less than six months remaining on Senesi's contract, he is attracting widespread interest from the likes of Everton, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, so there is likely to be competition for the defender's signature.
With the west Londoners perhaps trying to get ahead of the rival suitors, they have already lodged a proposal for the 28-year-old, and there are signs he could be the ideal addition to their backline...
"Superb" Senesi would bring much-needed experience
BlueCo's focus on signing younger players has received widespread scrutiny, with Gary Neville suggesting "you genuinely can’t win anything with kids", so bringing in the Bournemouth defender could be ideal, given that he has plenty of experience.
The Argentinian has now made 104 appearances in the Premier League, displaying his quality going forward by chipping in with a very impressive four goals and five assists in the top flight last season.
In fact, the centre-back has created six big chances this term, the highest number in the Bournemouth squad, but most importantly, he is also a solid defender, averaging 1.4 blocks per 90 and 7.6 clearances, ranking first on both metrics among his teammates.
Senesi, who has been described as "superb" by broadcaster Kris Temple, could be ready to make the step-up to a top club, so Chelsea should definitely try and get a deal done, but he is not the only experienced player on the shortlist, with a former Premier League striker also of interest...
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