Transfer News:
Chelsea had a rather underwhelming summer transfer window last time around as they failed to secure their top targets. Despite having signed a decent number of players, there was a feeling of unrest as Antonio Conte was unhappy with the club’s transfer activity.
However, the club seemed to have redeemed itself in the January transfer window and plugged a couple of glaring holes in the squad. One of them was the incoming of a backup left-back in Emerson Palmieri. Marcos Alonso had been overawed with the workload in the first half of the season and signing Palmieri meant that the Blues had a backup in the position for Alonso.
Hence, it is a bit surprising to see that the latest report from the Mirror states that Chelsea are now interested in luring Porto’s left back Alex Telles too. Telles had a brilliant season last time around, a campaign in which his attacking credentials were highlighted largely.
Alex Telles: Player Profile
Telles is the perfect embodiment of the modern fullback, someone who can hog the byline and send in some sumptuous crosses and deliveries into the box. His burst of pace, coupled with a knack of getting into the appropriate attacking positions makes him an excellent attacking outlet for any team. Telles is a good carrier of the ball and can be banked upon to provide that extra bit of cutting offensive edge to the team whenever required.
Alex relies on his offensive moves to create a host of chances for the team and is a supreme player to have when a team’s entire attacking play depends on the activities through the wings. Moreover, Alex has a different dimension to his game and that is his aerial strength. According to Whoscored data, Alex won 1.7 aerial duels on an average in the 20 league appearances that he made last season.
He also won two successful tackles, intercepted the ball on two occasions and cleared the ball 2.3 times on an average. The most impressive aspect is the fact that he delivered 3.2 key passes per game, clearly demonstrating the excellent creative force that he became. He scored thrice and assisted a whopping 13 times in 30 games, further highlighting his creative abilities.
Telles sent in 3.8 crosses per game, eventually capping off the fact that he could be relied upon as a brilliant attacking force even from a withdrawn wide position on the field.
Should Chelsea make a move?
Chelsea have one of the best left-backs in the league in Marcos Alonso, and Palmieri has shown that he is capable of being a worthy backup. Telles’ performances demonstrate that he would not settle on for a bench role and Chelsea wouldn’t prefer keeping three players for one position, considering that they have other major holes to fill in the squad. This move seems to be highly unlikely.
