It’s been a very busy summer at Chelsea, as they have already parted ways with Nathan Ake, Asmir Begovic, Juan Cuadrado, Christian Atsu and Bertrand Traore. Also, it’s been well documented that Diego Costa is no longer part of the club’s plans, so eventually he will likely be moving on as well. All these sales free up money and space, with eye on making some big name acquisitions this summer transfer window.
Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko should be the first addition, and that could be finalized any day now. His acquisition would then likely lead to the sale of Nemanja Matic to Manchester United. Stamford Bridge has also been heavily linked with Juventus left back Alex Sandro as well as Everton striker Romelu Lukaku this summer.
One prominent pundit, former USMNT player Janusz Michallik, thinks Sandro’s big money move to Chelsea is a “done deal.”
In an ESPN FC segment on transfer rumors and the realism of the moves actually happening, Michallik said:
“I think it’s a done deal. There’s some question marks for me at Chelsea. I love him, I have no idea why Juventus would get rid of him. Obviously they have got rid of some big, big players and they’ve proven to everybody they can still move on. If you look at Pirlo, Tevez and Pogba, they’re still capable.” (transcript Daily Express)
ESPN FC is a highly respected outlet, at least by Google, as they often appear first in search results for a given footballer an overwhelming majority of the time.
Michallik went on to say that Sandro is better suited to play in a back four, not the 3-4-3 formation that Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte uses, but the television pundit believes that Alex Sandro would fit in very well with the reigning Premier League champions anyway, as he provides an upgrade over what they have now.
“I think he’s a tremendous player in that back four. As we know at Chelsea, there is no left-back. (They have) Marcos Alonso, (so) I can see why he would play wing-back. I still think he’s better in a back four system, but I’m going to say that this is going to be a hit regardless because he’s that good and that’s going to happen,” Michallik added.
Various reports claim the transfer fee on this potential deal would be £60 million, and that would make Alex Sandro the most expensive defender of all time.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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