Will It Actually Happen?
After the defeat to Burnley in the opening weekend of the Premier League, Chelsea did not have a good beginning to their Premier League campaign, though they did manage to recover to an extent. The title holders were humbled at Stamford Bridge in a game which saw Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas both being sent off. They faced Tottenham Hotspurs at Wembley a week later and beat them 2-1, with left back Danny Rose on their radar. Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been struggling to fill the void at the left-back position, to add cover to Spanish wing-back Marcos Alonso and has looked into the transfer market on quite a few occasions, with the club being linked with Bayen Munich’s David Alaba and Juventus’ Alex Sandro.
There were rumors of Alex Sandro joining the club but those rumors have disappeared over time with the Serie A club stating that their Brazilian is not for sale this summer, after losing Leonardo Bonucci to league rivals AC Milan.
It has been a frustrating transfer period for Conte who is now willing to spend on new arrivals. It is reported that a £50m bid is being prepared for Tottenham and English left-back Danny Rose. Rose’s links to Chelsea have come after he expressed his unhappiness with the wages he received from the north London giants, in comparison to other top six clubs.
Over the past few season’s Rose has grown into one of Tottenham’s most prolific defenders making the left-back spot his own with consistent performances. His energy and desire to move forward makes him a huge threat for oppositions, the former Leeds United man has grown in stature as a player since he arrived at White Hart Lane. Having loan spells along the way have also nurtured his development and now the 27 year old is a regular for England.
However, he was injured and out of action for a while and made his return just recently, after recovering from a major knee surgery. If Chelsea manage to sign Rose in the new year, it would be stiff competition for Marcos Alonso in the left sided position.
North London Derby-
The upcoming match between the Gunners and Spurs could also benefit the Blues, as the winner of that will deal a huge blow to the title ambitions of the other and it will hopefully help push one team down, while Antonio Conte and his team will have the opportunity to get closer to the league leaders.
A draw will also suite Chelsea, as they will go above Mauricio Pochettino’s side and then they can focus on the two clubs from Manchester, who have started off positively, though the Red Devils lost out to them.
Unless City really slip up, things will be quite difficult for the rest of the sides from the Premier League, as they may become mere spectators in Pep Guardiola’s title glory, if things don’t change at the top of the points’ table soon.
It will be interesting to see what kind of strategy Conte himself implements, when his team face off against West Brom at The Hawthorns.
