When Antonio Conte took up the job at Chelsea, he knew that he had a big task on his hands. He was brought in to restore Chelsea’s reputation that was dented hugely last season as the Blues finished 10th on the table and recorded the worst title defence in the history of the Premier League. However, with three wins in three games, things are looking very bright for the Italian and his team. Conte had to wait for the European Championship to end before he could focus on impending arrivals and departures at Stamford Bridge. Once the tournament got over, the former Juventus manager brought in Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante.
The fans had to wait until the deadline for further signed as Marcos Alonso and David Luiz arrived just hours before the window slams shut. Although Chelsea have started out strongly this season, there is no doubt that a huge set of fan base still feels that this isn’t a significantly different team to that finished 10th on the table last time. Here we talk about 3 players who Chelsea could have signed this summer transfer window.
Romelu Lukaku
If there was one former player that fans wanted back at the Bridge this summer, then it would have had to be Lukaku. The big Belgian was chased by Chelsea all summer up until the final few days before he decided to snub his former club in favour of one more season at the Merseyside.
Chelsea cleared out a host of underperforming strikers this summer such as Loic Remy, Falcao and Pato. They did, however, buy Lukaku’s compatriot Batshuayi but unlike the Everton frontman, he is still unproven in England. Lukaku left Chelsea to join Everton permanently in 2014 and the move was hotly debated with many wondering why his previous spells out on loan hadn’t earned him a starting spot at Chelsea.
Leonardo Bonucci
With Zouma out, Chelsea had Terry and Cahill as the only two fit senior centre-backs in the team. It was important that Conte brought in a new centre-back in the summer otherwise injuries at the back could have really hurt them. They tried to sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli but failed as the defender signed a new contract with the Italian club. There were then strong rumours linking Juventus defender Bonucci with a move to Stamford Bridge.
The Italian international has played under Conte at Juventus as well as the international level. He would have been the best replacement for John Terry and would have given the much-needed solidity to Conte’s defense line. Though Luiz is very loved in England, there is no doubting the fact that Bonucci is far superior in quality than the Brazilian.
James Rodriguez
Rodriguez has slowly fallen down the pecking order at Real Madrid after making his move there following a stellar World Cup campaign. There were reports mentioning Chelsea’s interest in him but the Madrid club didn’t want him to leave on cheap, something that proved too much for Chelsea to handle at the end. The Columbian international is extremely talented and very versatile, something that would have helped Conte hugely.