With the Summer transfer window looming, here are 5 unexpected players Chelsea should look at as possible transfer targets.
Esteban Cambiasso
Not the youngest of players at 34, but certainly one of the best transfers of last season was Leicester bringing in treble winner Esteban Cambiasso on a free transfer. A master stroke by Leicester, which came as a bit of a shock to the footballing world as Leicester were what was then a newly promoted Leicesteer side. Not may expected Cambiasso to join Leicester as Cambiasso is a player with such high pedigree who boasts an incredible CV that holds 22 official titles, not to mention a treble and back to back Scudetto victories, no disprespect to Leicester.
Whilst the Argentine is in the twilight of his career, Mourinho has stated that he is looking for squad players rather than big name additions in order to challenge the first team players. Do not get it wrong- Cambiasso can still do a job in the middle of the park despite being 34 years of age, which was evident from his displays last season.
Last season, particularly in our first league defeat to Newcastle, we saw that when Matic was not playing, we lose a vital cog in the Chelsea machine and become quite vulnerable defensively. I do believe that Mikel can do a job here and there, but we still sorely lack depth in this position should Matic get injured or red carded, and the combative Argentinian could be the perfect stop gap.
The Argentinian also ticks many boxes: He was previously signed on a free transfer meaning he should not cost Chelsea too much, he is a former Mourinho player which would make settling in a lot easier, not to mention he has a whole campaign’s experience under his belt. Furthermore, he is a fan of Mourinho and vice versa, as well as being a former Mourinho player, so he will knows what will be expected from him from day one.
If Chelsea were to pull this off, it could be quite the move.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Not quite everyone’s cup of tea (much like our Spaniard up top), but still a player, who on top form bangs in goals. He may also seems as if he does not want to play a lot of the time, but when he does- what a player he can be.
The striker has been accused of ill discipline and disrupting the dressing room in the past, but if there is any manager that knows how to handle Adebayor- it’s Mourinho. The player is also self admittedly a fan of Mourinho, with the Togo international stating.
“He was the one that, even in training, I always did my best, I always ran around, I always did what I had to do. Because he knows how to treat players, he knows how to talk to them. He knows how to have communication with his players. So for me, that is what you need”.
Furthermore, the Togo international seems happy to collet wages off the bench at Spurs, having only played 10 games for Spurs last season. Adebayor would relish working under Mourinho again, and would undoubtedly see more game time at Chelsea, not to mention playing in a team that will be challenging on all fronts next season. Adebayor is tall, strong, a good headerer of the ball, not to mention a clinical finisher. The former Arsenal striker also has good movement which would benefit the likes of Fabregas, Oscar and Hazard.
The only potential stumbling block is whether Spurs would sell to Chelsea, but with Spurs seemingly keen on offloading the Togolese and his wages, this could be an easy transfer for Chelsea and would give us good cover in the striking department.
Let’s be honest for a second, it may only be a fantasy, but how beautiful would it be to see Adebayor score a winner at White Hart Lane?
Paulinho
While not the most dazzling of players on the pitch, the Brazilian personifies the modern defensive midfield side of the game.
He’s good in a tackle, reads the game well and is strong in the air on both sides of the pitch. The Brazilian also has both Premier League and International experience, so settling in to the squad shouldn’t be too hard. Added to that, he already lives in London, and there are a number of Brazilians and Portuguese speakers already at the club, which should ease his settling in process.
Chelsea were strongly linked to the Brazilian last summer before the eventual arrival of Fabregas which cooled down our apparent interest, but with Spurs seemingly keen to offload the box to box midfielder and Mourinho looking for midfield reinforcements, Paulinho could become a valuable member of the squad.
While he may not be better than Cesc or Matic, he could definitely be a useful squad player who seems a Mourinho player due to his work ethic and ability to constantly get up and down the pitch to assist the team. Furthermore, at 26, Paulinho still has many years left in him, so even if he doesn’t do too well, he could still be shipped off to another team for a decent fee (especially with Chelsea’s excellent business model of late).
Again, even though we are dealing with Spurs, It would be beyond foolish pride if the North Londoners were to turn down money for a player that they no longer want, which means we could possibly get him at a fairly low price.
Keylor Navas
One of the stars of the 2014 world cup, the Costa Rican was linked with nearly every top club in Europe last summer. Navas ended up signingfor Madrid, but has only appeared sparingly since his move from Levante. With only 6 appearances to his name in his debut season, Navas has probably not had the debut season he would have imagined, and I’m sure he’ll be very receptive and open to offers especially with De Gea being linked to the Spaniards.
Chelsea have been linked to a host of keepers with Cech all but gone, including Robert Green, Begovic, Bettenelli and Guitua. Despite this, Navas seems the best and most realistic option given the names we’ve been linked to. Green can be solid, but too often does he commit a howler reminiscent of our last British goalkeeper, Ross Turnbull. Both Guitua and Begovic seem unlikely to leave starting positions to play second fiddle to Courtois, whilst Bettenelli, at 21, is unlikely to want to warm the bench for Courtois at such a young age. Most other quality keepers would be reluctant to sit on the bench, as there are very few keepers better than Courtois in the world.
Whilst Navas would still see majority of games on the bench at Stamford Bridge should he sign, he would almost certainly be offered more opportunities at Chelsea given the amount of games Chelsea play, not to mention our FA cup and Capital One Cup ties. Furthermore, He shouldn’t be too costly, he’s a quality keeper, and age 28, he still has a good 7 years in him being a goalkeeper.
Were Chelsea to complete this deal at a reasonable price, it could be one hell of a signing for the Blues.
David Alaba
With rumours suggesting that Luis wants out of Stamford Bridge due to lack of first team action,(Can’t really blame him, there’s not many better than Azpi) it seems as if Chelsea are preparing for his possible departure having been linked to a number of defenders of late.
Rahman is the latest name to be linked with us, but at 20 years old, he would certainly be looking to play for a club where he is a regular. Alderweireld has also been linked to the Blues, but it is thought that the Saints and Spurs lead the chase for the Belgian.
Alaba is one of the most versatile players in modern football with the ability to play left back, defensve midfielder or even further up the pitch as a left sided midfielder (which could also be useful in those games we’re looking to shut out the game). The Austrian is also tactically astute, has a strong work ethic, and is certainly more than able at delivering set pieces.
While in theory, he would be the perfect squad player for Mourinho due to both his understanding of the game and his versatiliy, prizing him away from the German champions would not be an easy task. Alaba has come through the ranks at Bayern and seems happy there. Not to mention he’s playing for Bayern Munich- a team that is basically gauranteed the Bundlesliga title from the get go, and a team very talented and very much capable of winning the Champions league. He also plays his fair share of games at Bayern, having made 29 appearances for the Germans last season.
This would probably not be an easy transfer to complete, especially with Alaba seemingly happy at Bayern, not to mention Pep and Mourinho’s relationship, but were we pull it off, it would be a very good signing for Chelsea.
