The London side Chelsea somehow managed to grab the winner last weekend at the Vicarage road and marked their second successive 2-1 victory in the Premier League. The home side scored the opener in the 55th minute, which Chelsea’s new signing Michy Batshuayi cancelled in the 80th minute and for the second time running; Diego Costa came to clinch the points in the dying minute of the game.
Well, the game ended fairly well, but that raised some questions regarding Chelsea’s aging defence and even the manager himself stressed on the point that a new centre-half is what Chelsea need right at this very moment. He said:
“If you look now at our squad, we have only five defenders – four that started today and an academy player Ola Aina,” said Conte.
“Ola is very good – he has great potential – but with any young player you must work to put them in the first team. Sure, he has a good future.
“If one defender is injured or banned, then we are in trouble, but the club and me we know this and we are talking every day to improve the squad.”
Now, a day has begun and a new rumour has popped out. According to the reports from the English media, Chelsea are currently monitoring the situation of AC Milan’s 21-year-old defender Alessio Romagnoli and Sky Sports have even stated that a bid of around £30m has already been rejected as the Italians are not willing to sell their priced asset.
Romagnoli only joined Milan last summer from Roma and impressed the Serie A spectators with his sheer defensive skills. Chelsea were desperately chasing Napoli’s highly-rated centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, but Sky Sports reported that the move is looking highly unlikely as the club from Naples are not willing to let the player go. With that being said; Romagnoli seems a fair option for the club.
Who is Alessio Romagnoli?
Romagnoli is a product of AS Roma’s youth academy and he got his senior breakthrough at the age of 17 when he was included by Roma’s then manager Zdeněk Zeman in the first team. In December 2012, Romagnoli made his senior debut for the side and three months later, he bagged his first goal in Roma’s shirt against Genoa.
His first team opportunities were limited during the first half of the 2013-14 season, but during the second course and under the new manager, Rudi Garcia, he began to feature on a regular basis both as a centre back and as a fullback. After making 14 appearances for the side, he was sent to the fellow Serie A side Sampdoria on a season-long loan. The youngster went on to make 31 appearances for the side and since then has attracted interest from many top clubs.
Eventually, in August 2015, he made a permanent switch from Roma to AC Milan for a reported fee of around €25 million. The 21-year-old cemented his starting spot with the San Siro outfit and went on to make 40 appearances for the side in the 2015-16 season.
Style Of Play:
His major asset in the game is his composure. The 21-year-old keeps his head cool every time and that helps him to command the back line at this very young age. A left-footed centre back, Romagnoli, is also known for his confident ball playing skills and also thanks to his versatility, he can also operate the game from the left-back spot.
Being a last line of the defence, the player had made himself a solid personnel for the team and at 6ft 2in, he is well capable of giving his opponents a run for their money. At 21 years of age, the Italian has shown a great maturity on the pitch and that has helped him to time his tackles perfectly and only because of that, he has been compared to the Italian legend Alessandro Nesta at times.
We all are aware of the fact that Italians have had some great defenders by their side at times, and this 21-year-old is no exception here. Romagnoli is full of confidence and that has helped him to maintain his consistency throughout the season. During the last campaign, the defender won 52% of his average duels and also averaged at least 9 defensive actions per game.
Well, this is no secret that the 21-year-old is a priced possession for Milan, but a concrete interest from Chelsea might turn the tables around for Romagnoli, who was named as the man of the match twice in the last season. Antonio Conte needs a central defender and Romagnoli too needs a platform to take his career to the next level, which Milan cannot really provide right at this very moment.