CHELSEA look set for another busy summer transfer market, and depending on who they can sell, there could be a number of key positions they will invest in.
A new striker appears to be the main priority, as we spoke about last week. This week we will look at where we believe could become another priority position – a new centre back.
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The club appear to be targeting a certain type of defender; one who is commanding, with a bit of experience, and one who can slot in and play well right away.
Here, Chelsea fan and blogger Simon Phillips looks at five potential targets to keep an eye on in the coming market.
Pau Torres
The 24-year-old is the perfect option in my opinion. He is a great age and comes with plenty of experience, room to improve even more, and Chelsea will get his peak years signing him now.
He is also very attainable, with the feeling that he is about to make his big vital career move now, one that will be pinnacle for his future.
The 6ft 4in monster already has seven Spain caps, and he is the perfect all-round centre-back that Chelsea are seeking.
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Niklas Sule
Certainly not my first choice and he is also rather injury prone. But we have put him in there because the majority of sources reporting on Chelsea’s centre-back chase are consistently mentioning him.
Experienced as a regular Germany international and has seen it all at Bayern Munich, he is actually better on the ball than some give him credit for and he is certainly quicker than many think. He ticks the dominant box at least.
Again, he is at a good age at 25 – not too old and not too young.
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Jose Gimenez
The Uruguay international has been on Chelsea’s target list for a couple of seasons now, and he is a defender that many in the club really admire.
He ticks all the boxes, but perhaps his price puts a dampener on this rumour, with the Blues needing over £100million to trigger his release clause.
If they could get a discount from Atletico Madrid, then I don’t think they would hesitate signing this 26-year-old rock.
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Marquinhos
Here we have another centre-back that sits high on my own personal want-list.
The 26-year-old would be a very difficult player to sign, being contracted at Paris Saint-Germain until 2024. However, his ties to Thomas Tuchel could help Chelsea and they have been loosely linked with the Brazilian international recently.
If you have any chance of signing Marquinhos, then you sign Marquinhos.
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Caglar Soyuncu
When Leicester scout and sign a relatively unknown player, they soon become known.
That is certainly the case for 24-year-old Turkey international Soyuncu. I love this player, I think he is going on to be one of the best centre-backs in the world, and again, he ticks every single box that Chelsea need.
There have been some very faint links with Chelsea, and it won’t be an easy signing. But of course, we also thought the same about N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell, who both joined Chelsea from Leicester for a reasonable fee (a bargain in Kante’s case).
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