Chelsea could make a move for a top central defender this summer.
While Chelsea are not short of central defensive options on paper, it has been a bit of a problem area for Mauricio Pochettino this season.
First of all, it is worth mentioning that the Blues’ defence as a whole have conceded so many goals lately.
Sheffield United put two past them over the weekend, while Manchester United managed to score three times at Stamford Bridge the match before.
Focusing on Chelsea’s central defence specifically, though, they have had a lot of injuries there and Thiago Silva’s contract is up this summer. According to Pochettino, his future is yet to be discussed. Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital could now make funds available for a centre-half to be brought in.
Todd Boehly could finally get his man
Back in the summer of 2022, Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly to strengthen their defence following the exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
However, it appears that Boehly and the other Chelsea owners were keen on someone else, who they could make a move for in the next transfer window.
On his Substack Si Phillips Talks Chelsea, journalist Simon Phillips has claimed that the big bosses at Chelsea wanted to bring in Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.
In the end, that did not happen, with De Ligt joining Bayern Munich instead in a £68m deal.
But Phillips says that the Dutchman is a player who is on the Blues’ radar again.
Why Matthijs de Ligt is on Chelsea’s radar
It is not a surprise to hear that Chelsea are looking at De Ligt again. He is a central defender with so much quality.
If Silva does leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, making a move for the Dutchman would make sense.
As per FBref, De Ligt has ranked in the 90th percentile for aerials won among centre-backs over the last year. He is someone who is extremely good in the air.
De Ligt can also play on the ground, though, ranking in the 96th percentile for progressive passes.