Could the cheeky signing of David Alaba from Bayern Munich could transform Chelsea’s fortunes like Virgil van Dijk did for Liverpool?
Chelsea has been crying out loud for a solution at the troublesome left back spot. Frank Lampard has used as many as three different players at that position and even changed formation to try and find a solution over the course of this season. Could Bayern Munich left back David Alaba represent the solution?
Emerson Palmieri started the season brightly by starting all four games before the first international break. But after getting injured while on Italy duty, he has not been able to break through. He’s struggled since coming back from injury and hit his nadir when he was substituted at halftime against Arsenal in December. He has been okay on the defensive end, but has been rather ordinary on the offensive end. He’s not shown enough to be the main left back.
Marcos Alonso was then given an opportunity to stake his claim on the left side of the backline. He flattered to deceive and his deficiencies in the defensive end were exploited mercilessly by opposition teams. When he isn’t bombing forward, he’s been solid but him not bombing forward takes away from his game. But if he follows his natural instincts, his recovery pace puts him at a severe disadvantage.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta was then handed a chance to cement himself as the starting left back. While he has been extremely good on the defensive end of the position, he has been found severely lacking in the offensive game. It’s not that he is a terrible player offensively—as demonstrated by his tremendous runs and crosses when played as a right back—but that when he is played on the left, his lack of a left foot comes disrupts potential attacks especially when he tries to cross into the box.
Lampard has even played a 3-4-3 formation to accommodate Alonso in his best position as a left wingback, but this formation doesn’t allow for a cohesive pressing philosophy and takes away from the attacking approach play.
So, amidst this struggle, what didn’t make Lampard happy was the complete capitulation of the centrebacks over the weekend against Sheffield United and the repeated failures of chocolate-wristed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep the ball out of the net. While those areas will definitely looked to be improved upon, the area which needs immediate attention has been there left back position, as it has been a problem position for almost the entire season.
In order to address this issue, Chelsea has been interested in the likes of Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax) and Alex Telles (Porto). Each of these players have their strengths and weaknesses, with Tagliafico being my preferred choice due to his low cost. One target which Chelsea should definitely look at is David Alaba from Bayern Munich, who has one-year left on his contract and is looking increasingly unsettled at Bayern.
Alaba is 28 years old, having played in Munich his entire senior career. He has been very adaptable, having played at left back, centreback, central midfield and left wing. He is around six-feet-tall, which is a good height for the Blues’ squad. He also has great recovery pace and is a very good header of the ball.
This season, he has proven to be the glue which has held Bayern together at centreback after the spate of injuries they have suffered at this position. He had also guided Bayern Munich Road Runner, Alphonso Davies, on his defensive duties. The Austrian is also very vocal, as displayed during the initial Bundesliga games after the restart which didn’t have piped crowd noise.
Chelsea should definitely be interested in getting him as he would definitely transform the team by being the leader which has been desperately missing from the XI at times this season. The Champions League winner has won everything there is in the club game while at Bayern. He could also be interested in a new start-up and the Chelsea project has proven to be ambitious enough to entice even Timo Werner.
Alaba’s price could be at around £65-70 million, but he’s so versatile that he can play at left back for the next three seasons and transition into centreback as he ages out. Right now, only Manchester City have shown concrete interest in him, but Chelsea should take advantage of bad relationship between Bayern and Man City. The German side has also shown an interest in a Tiemoue Bakayoko; that could be used to the Blues’ advantage to bring in Alaba. He could very well be playing for an improved contract, but Chelsea should definitely make a play for him.