Chelsea Make Shocking Inquiry About World Cup Winning Defender: Can Conte Pull This Off?

Chelsea have reportedly enquired about the availability of Bayern Munich’s star defender Jerome Boateng as Antonio Conte prepares for life in the Champions League. If reports are to be believed, the Blues have decided to turn to the 28-year-old after their pursuit for Virgil van Dijk went cold with Southampton demanding more than £50 million for their celebrated centre-half.

The Blues struggled hugely against a revived Arsenal side in the FA Cup final and manager Antonio Conte’s unstoppable squad weren’t given any breathing space to operate. It was difficult to understand whether Arsenal were too good for them or it was the brief hiatus in the closing weeks of the Premier League, which brought the visible complacency among the squad.

Though Chelsea would console themselves with the bigger silverware, it surely does raise some concerns for the Italian boss who thought he had sorted out everything for the side in his first season itself. Chelsea were behind in the first five minutes of the game and Arsenal wasted dozens of chances, letting Chelsea eventually equalise in the final quarter of the game.

Chelsea’s back line, which has been subject to immense applauds, faltered almost immediately as Arsenal struck with an Aaron Ramsey header, who found himself in the penalty box with no one to cover him. David Luiz and Thibaut Courtois looked befuddled moments after celebrating the equaliser with Costa. Although they were playing with 10 men, the central defence shouldn’t have been vacated, which indicates the lack of depth in Chelsea’s back line.

A move for Boateng is pretty much justified by this sense. Despite winning the League title, Chelsea looks to be in all sorts of troubles with their defenders. Bournemouth wants Nathan Ake back and new millionaire club Marseille would like to have Kurt Zouma on loan. And the lack of first team action for both of them only increase their chances of moving out.

While there is no reason why Boateng would want to leave Bayern Munich for any other club at the moment, he didn’t have the best of seasons either. Repeated injuries saw him pushed behind Mats Hummels and Javi Martinez at times, and the arrival of Niklas Sule from Hoffenheim means his first team chances remain unsettled for next season too.

He clarified he doesn’t have any destination in his mind either. He recently said, “I don’t have anything else planned. There are only a few clubs in the world with the appeal and tradition of Bayern Munich.” The World Cup winner is one of the best in the centre-half role and could be a level up for Chelsea surely. But with the 2018 World Cup coming up, Bayern seems his safest bet.