Those of you who remember pint-sized Deco’s move to Fluminese back in 2010, may also remember that we received s first-option on one of their most promising youngsters, the full-back named Wallace.
Predominantly a right-back, he can also do a good job on the left, which is why I believe we have exercised our option on him, with Ashley Cole set to be leaving next summer.
The 18 year-old seems to have sealed a €5.5m move here, to be completed in June of next year. Many of you may not have heard of the Brazilian, but they have quite a decent history in producing full-backs, both Rafael and Fabio of Man United started there, whilst they also nurtured the very impressive Marcelo, who is not at Real Madrid.
He will make it a fabulous five of Brazilians at the club, meeting Lucas Piazon, Oscar, Ramires, and David Luiz on the Chelsea books. It further presses home the point that Chelsea will now focus solely on youth, as they now boast an impressively young side, obviously brimming with quality, especially in the full back position, where we already have both Azpilicueta and Bertrand.
Ivanovic recently came into the press and queried our own defensive mishaps, believing that we could be doing better to stop the goals going in, which he is probably correct about, although we only conceded 4 goals in our opening 7 Premier League games, and the absence of John Terry may well be a contributing factor to that.
However, Chelsea fans will no doubt be wondering why the real issue of forwards isn’t being addressed, but links with Jackson Martinez of Porto have been circling in the last few days, pushing home the belief that Di Matteo will have funds to purchase a goalscorer in January.
By Brad Smith
Follow @BrummieBrad