London is Blue Dispatch #048

With Enza Maresca finally officially announced as manager, and most players getting ready for Copa America and the Euros (Chelsea have declined to release Benoit Badiashile, Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez for the Olympics) all eyes will now move cautiously towards another summer transfer window. In this week’s newsletter we try to make sense of numerous “credible” transfer links and why the Blues are keen on certain reinforcements.

Tosin Adarabioyo

With Wesley Fofana missing all of last season and Trev Chalobah also injured and likely to be moved on, a new right-sided CB was always going to be on the agenda and club moved swiftly to sign Fulham’s Adarabioyo. Tosin, who left City’s elite development squad two months after Maresca joined as head coach, has accumulated 119 PL games during his time at Fulham. At 6’5, Tosin also adds much-needed altitude to what was the second shortest squad in the PL last season. His prowess at attacking and defensive set-pieces will prove particularly handy to Bernardo Cueva, who will be building the club’s set-piece department after joining from Brentford. Chelsea conceded 11 from set-pieces last season, some way off from champions Man City’s miserly tally of 3. Signing him for free, right under the noses of fellow top-4 hopefuls Newcastle feels like a smart move all round, carrying the mark of another City connection in Joe Shields.

Benjamin Šeško

Having watched the Slovenian sniper for almost two years, I type this section out with glee. With Armando Broja expected to be sold and Nicolas Jackson running the frontline without any rotation last season, a new CF to up the competitiveness in the squad was always going to be a priority. Having turned 21 only days ago, Šeško is again, a tall order at 6’4 (more height?), but it is his ridiculous acceleration, aerial prowess and two-footed finishing that has been turning heads around Europe. Šeško finished his season by scoring 7 in his last 7 games for RB Leipzig, finishing with 14 goals despite starting only 17 games. Šeško also seems to fit seamlessly into what Enzo Maresca asked of his center-forward at Leicester, excelling at short lay-offs and exploding into the box to finish. He is rapidly improving and at 65m could still prove to be a sensational capture. Arsenal and Man United seem very keen on adding to their frontline as well, so this saga might yet continue until after the Euros.

Jhon Duran

David Ornstein of The Athletic revealed that Aston Villa were in touch with Conor Gallagher’s camp for a potential deal, reiterating that Chelsea still retained their long-standing interest in Villa’s Jhon Duran after an approach in January. The 20-year-old Colombian only started three games last season, but a brace against Liverpool and a few sparkling cameos have done little to quell heavy interest in his services. The left-footed forward is blessed with incredible ball-striking, is built like a bench-pressing ox (helping him hold off PL CBs at 19) and is also supremely aggressive, both on the ground and in the air. Should a move for Gallagher materialize for a price lower than the 50m asking price, a move for Duran could still be on the cards.

Goalkeepers

At Leicester, Enzo Maresca liked building up in a 2-4/4-2, with the goalkeeper playing almost as a centerback and baiting the press. The need for a specialized keeper with excellent ball-playing pedigree has been highlighted as another transfer need. Villarreal’s Filip Jörgensen, Las Palmas’ Alvaro Valles, and the laziest link of them all, Leicester’s Mads Hermansen have all been mentioned publicly. There are also reports stating that Maresca is happy to work with Robert Sanchez. Here’s to hoping no one shows him the Spaniard’s pin-point pass to Declan Rice in ultra slow-mo to the background track of Ave Maria.

Michael Olise

Why buy horses when you can get yourself a unicorn? Olise is, quite simply put, one of those guys. Cobham connection notwithstanding, the young Frenchman managed 16 G/A in 19 games and is a skeleton key on legs in the attacking 3rd. With Maresca’s Leicester relying heavily on their front 4 for goals and regularly up against stubborn low-blocks, signing Olise could just help Chelsea preserve last season’s free flowing attacking output while adding defensive resilience under the Italian.

Leftback

Marc Cucurella’s mini-remontada may have offered a ray of hope but Ben Chilwell’s continuing injury-woes may force the club to look for a first choice leftback. The problem being that Maresca’s ideal LB should either be accomplished as a left centerback, or be able to play as a central midfielder in possession. Both are niche roles, which means having to shell out more. Unless of course the plan is to use Levi Colwill there, or promote the highly-promising Cobham graduate Ishé Samuels-Smith.

All-in-all, it does seem like the club have moved quickly and decisively to address issues in the squad from last season while also targeting specific profiles Maresca would be keen on. Things however, are seldom this straightforward in a Chelsea transfer window.