Marco Verratti is Antonio Conte’s dream transfer for Chelsea
If Chelsea can pull off the rumored transfer of Marco Verratti, they would clinch Antonio Conte’s dream signing for the club now and for the future.
Chelsea supporters should all hope this week’s transfer rumor comes to fruition. Marco Verratti’s days at Paris Saint-Germain are likely numbered. The Italian midfielder had a public bust-up with PSG manager Unai Emery. Antonio Conte, on the other hand, has admired Verratti for years.
Emery substituted Verratti out of PSG’s fixture against Olympique Marseille. Verratti vented his frustrations as he took his seat, and the cameras caught it all. This suggests that one or the other will be on his way out of France.
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When he was manager of Italy, Antonio Conte said that Verratti was the future of the Italian national team. Prior to taking over the national team, Conte tried to bring Verratti to Juventus. If Chelsea’s leadership are sincere in their intentions to support Antonio Conte and his eventual move towards the 3-5-2 formation, they must sign Marco Verratti if he leaves PSG.
More than any other player on the transfer watch or rumor mill, Verratti can do the most to take Chelsea towards Conte’s vision and ambition. Chelsea have seemingly turned things around with the 3-4-3, besides the obvious blip against West Ham. To sustain that success against the biggest teams, though, they will need to continue to grow.
Conte has solidified the midfield, and everyone is happy about that for the time being. The next step will be adding creativity to the midfield to complement the stability. Brains and brawn.
Verratti brings that level of creativity. He is a marvelous passer and has a lot of bite in the tackle. Alongside N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic, Verratti would round out the best midfield in Europe. That would continue after Matic leaves, as well.
Most comparisons between teams are an act of ignorance. Chelsea will never be Juventus and vice versa. You cannot move backwards in football. Your eyes must be planted firmly forward. Chelsea can emulate Juventus but they must do it on their own terms. To become Juventus 2.0 under Antonio Conte, Verratti is a perfect signing.
If Kante represents the Arturo Vidal-like bulldog in the midfield, then Marco Verratti is the latter-day Andrea Pirlo. The key difference is that Verratti has a tenacity that Pirlo never did.
Verratti is a cross between Roy Keane and Pirlo. The most pertinent comparison to Verratti may be Paul Scholes. That advantage would help Chelsea dominate the rough-and-tumble Premier League for another decade.
Chelsea’s future lineup includes Lewis Baker or Nathaniel Chalaboah alongside Verratti and Kante in the midfield. The final piece should be one of the fantastic four youth players who have started to break through.
If Verratti truly is making his way out of Paris, Chelsea may be able to buy him for less than his full market value. PSG will be negotiating from a point of weakness.
It is terrible for a club when these sort of rumors escape. It automatically puts them on a knee when negotiating with a club. Chelsea should not pay more than £65 million for Marco Verratti, but that is what it could take to secure the signing. £65 million or less and an exchange of a player could be perfect.
Next: Antonio Conte excited by Chelsea's options going forward
Chelsea can take a major step towards securing their long-term ambitions by signing Marco Verratti. And for once, all the factors may align for this transfer to actually happen.