Conte is still looking for defensive reinforcements in Italy after failure to secure Kalidou Koulibaly. Latest reports claim that Conte wants to convince Giorgio Chiellini to come to Stamford Bridge from Turin and could make a €30 million offer to Juventus for the 32-year-old defender.
English newspaper The Sun claim that after the repeated failures to procure Koulibaly from Napoli, Chelsea have set their sights on the Italian bruiser, who has an undeniable physical side to his game that would definitely go well with Premier League. But Chelsea and Conte won’t stop there. The Mirror claim that despite signing Batshuyi from Marseille, Chelsea want ex-Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic as well (via Football-Italia).
The Ruffian at the Back
At 32, Giorgio Chiellini has won very little other than the customary Scudetto that Juventus have been winning ever since Conte took over the reins. In fact, compared to his illustrious historical Italian counterparts, he has won virtually nothing outside the peninsula. This is perhaps the only factor, albeit a very minuscule one, that can perhaps come to tempt Chiellini to leave the Old Lady, to whom he has been an ever-faithful servant since joining from Fiorentina.
There is very little chance of Juventus or Chiellini even considering a deal, as the defender who has come up from the youth ranks of AS Roma, will look to retire with the Bianconneri, after a long career which includes a season in Serie B. He had then quietly stepped into the shoes of legendary Fabio Cannavaro. The latter, of course, was one of those who had departed the Stadio Delle Alpi and the shame and ignominy it had come to symbolise back then, when Italy was rocked by the fictional tale of the greatest ever match-fixing scandal.
Like his captain Buffon and his defensive partner Bonucci, Chiellini is an ever present symbol of stability of the club. Like Bonucci, it will be ever so difficult to prize away the brawny defender from Turin.
Mandzukic to Chelsea?
In the initial days of the summer transfer after the signing of Argentine Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli, there was speculation in the news regarding Mandzukic’s future in Turin. But he had squashed all speculation in the media after committing his future to Juventus. However, a guaranteed starting place could have lured the Croatian away to Chelsea, but even in London he will have to play second fiddle to Diego Costa.
Chelsea have had a difficult summer in terms of transfers, firstly because they have lost their Champions League spot and secondly because Antonio Conte is not a name that is glamorous enough to attract the top stars. However they must be patient and let the Italian tactician work his magic regardless of the transfer market, since this is a man who won the Scudetto with Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic as his main strikers back in his early Juventus years.
