Antonio Rudiger et al.
Chelsea should not sign Antonio Rudiger. The rumor that he would come at a discount seems odd. He just tore his ACL and that kind of gamble is silly to make. This isn’t because I don’t think he’s a good player, he most certainly is, but we have already gone over the fact that the best players in Chelsea’s celebrated youth set up are all defenders and so adding another one simply doesn’t make sense.
I thought Rudiger was a good choice but ultimately preferred Kalidou Koulibaly between the two of them. Koulibaly is bigger and has a better range of passing. Also it is not in Rudiger’s best interest to switch medical teams in the middle of his recovery. It won’t be good for his health and mitigates his chances of returning to the cavaliering young defender he was before.
The most recent rumor in terms of defenders suggest that Chelsea will sign either Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti or Inter Milan’s Jeison Murillo. However, both of these would be poor signings in my opinion.
Again, this has nothing to do with their quality, it just doesn’t make sense to add players in their mold at the moment. Making signings simply to make them is a bad decision. Chelsea need experience; there are more than enough young players in the squad.
Next: Radja Nainggolan