Chelsea have been hunting for new players this summer with many of their targets not arriving in London for diverse reason. One of the many positions Antonio Conte wants to beef up is the left wing back.
He bought Marcos Alonso on transfer deadline last summer and the player matured to steal the position as his own becoming the Premier League highest scorer in the 2016/17 campaign with seven goals.
This summer, though, Conte has been on the look out for another left back to compete with Alonso as Champions League football adds up to the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup this season.
His search has taken his scouts and negotiators to Juventus for Alex Sandro while the Tottenham Hotspur’s defender Danny Rose has also been linked.
The rumors have been on the increase as have the bids. Chelsea have made several bids for Sandro with the last bid going well over £70m.
However, Alonso sent out a clear message to Chelsea – they can buy another left full back, but not for that money.
If Chelsea cough out that much money for the Brazilian left back, he will surely be a starter under Conte, hindering the constant growth of Alonso.
The Spanish left back will deserve a lot of trust from Conte, and the Italian manager should just focus on getting a back up left back, but not those in the mold of Sandro.
Alonso’s two goals against Spurs were as vital as any from a Chelsea legend in a crucial Premier League game. Ahead of the game, talk was intense about Chelsea’s possible failure at Wembley on Sunday. The Blues had lost their opening Premier League game at Stamford Bridge against Burnley and had two of their key players sent off.
With Cesc Fabregas and club captain Gary Cahill out of the firing line against Spurs, Chelsea had little hope going into the game, but enter Alonso, and Chelsea were marching home to West London, beaming with smiles all through the journey.
His free kick was sumptuous and as he would admit, it was one of the best he had belted past a goalkeeper.
I don’t think I have hit better [free-kicks] than that, even in training, I am very happy for the win.
There has been a lot of talking during the week, but we showed we are together as a team. We tried to more of the ball in the second half but they were pressing a lot. We were compact and it was a very good game from us.
Marcos Alonso, OneFootball
His performance was one that gave Chelsea fans encouragement, he is growing to become one of the best in the business. They may have read and seen their club make huge money offers for players equal to Alonso’s quality, and were joyous of his display.
Who needs Alex Sandro when this man keeps improving every game pic.twitter.com/m7zIpOyV8r
— Thierry Nyann 🇬🇭 (@nyannthierry) August 20, 2017
Alan Pardew wrote in his column for the Sports Mail that Chelsea have their answer in their search for a left wing back and believes Alonso will mature even more.
As a manager, when your transfer targets are all over the press there is the odd benefit. You look to see how the guy in the shirt at your club reacts.
Alonso had a very good first season at Stamford Bridge, but has seen Chelsea linked with Tottenham’s Danny Rose and Alex Sandro of Juventus. ‘Take that!’ is his response. Well played I say.
Alan Pardew, Daily Mail
