A new era has begun at Chelsea following the arrival of Maurizio Sarri. The transfer business might be a bit slow but expect things to pick up soon as Sarri gets a feel of things at Cobham.
There a few weeks to go before the window closes and the gaffer is expected to strengthen a few areas of the squad. Last season, the defence wasn’t as solid as the title-winning season and that is something Sarri will have to look at.
If reports are to be believed, Chelsea are eyeing a move for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani. The 23-year old has been touted as a future star and made 22 league appearances last season for the Old Lady.
With the likes of Barzagli and Chiellini at the twilight of their career, Rugani was touted as the future of Juventus. Reports from the Evening Standard, though, claim that Chelsea have already agreed a fee for the talented defender.
Rugani – What will he offer Chelsea?
Sarri’s blueprint was a petty complicated one at Napoli. Unlike most Italian coaches who tend to be very pragmatic, Sarri was pretty proactive in his approach which resulted in one of the best attacking sides in the Serie A if not in Europe.
Napoli played some fluent football at times as the front three wreaked havoc on opposition defences. The contribution of that defence cannot be neglected despite all the champagne football that was on offer. In Kalidou Koulibaly and Raul Albiol, Sarri had the perfect combination of steel and finesse.
Albiol was the key player at the back as he was the one with the good passing range and ability to get the ball out from the back. Currently, in this Chelsea squad, only David Luiz has the ability to do that. That is where Rugani will come into the picture.
Rugani is pretty good and composed on the ball and his distribution from the back will be a big positive. His ability to take on attackers will be tested in the more open Premier League, but with time, he can fine-tune his defending as he is still pretty young.
The fee being quoted by the media is £44.2m which is quite high. However, Rugani is young and does have the resale value, so it does seem like a deal with a lot of potential. Lest we forget, Chelsea haven’t spent big on a defender in a while, so it was long overdue!