Chelsea have done a great job appointing Xabi Alonso as the new manager of the club. But just the Spaniard won’t be enough. The Blues’ problems are bigger than that. They will need to do a lot more to fix them. One of the best ways would be to sign quality and proven players in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Alonso is expected to have more say on transfer matters than his predecessors. And one would expect the Spaniard to try and sign more experienced players than Chelsea have over the past four seasons.
Centre-back is one area where Chelsea have been short of quality options. Levi Colwill’s injury went a long way in derailing the season. But then, a club of this size cannot be dependent on just one player. It is remarkable that even after spending close to two billion pounds, they had nobody in the squad capable of replacing the Cobham graduate.
Anyways, the focus needs to be on doing better in the future. According to Fabrizio Romano, Ibrahima Konate will leave Liverpool as a free agent, it is over. After long negotiations over a new deal, the defender is now set to leave.
Could Chelsea sign Konate as he leaves Liverpool?
Chelsea have been linked with Konate in the past as well. And now that he is set to leave Liverpool as a free agent, one would imagine that would make a move easier to pull off.
That being said, competition is expected to be high as well. A lot of top clubs would want to sign a player of Konate’s quality and experience for free.
Real Madrid have been suggested as a possible destination for months as well. And the club do have an almost spotless record when it comes to convincing free agents to join them. So, Los Blancos have to be the favourites.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich are rumoured to be interested as well. So, at best, Chelsea might be third in line.
Which other centre-backs have the Blues been linked with?
It is easy to get excited about a move for Konate. But to be very realistic, Chelsea are not the favourites to win the race for his signature, even if they want him.
The club have been linked with a few other centre-backs lately as well. There are two names that stand above the rest when it comes to Premier League-proven players.
One of them is Jan Paul van Hecke of Brighton & Hove Albion. We all know about Chelsea’s record when it comes to signing players from the Seagulls.
The other is Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace. He has proven himself to be an excellent defender for the Eagles. It might be time for the next step.
But at the end of the day, it should depend on who Alonso wants. Nobody will understand his own system better. Let’s hope that the Blues back him this summer and make the signings that he sees fit for his first-team plans.
Sourav Mahanty
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow. Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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