Fabrizio Romano has this afternoon reported something we had already started to suspect – Chelsea are looking in earnest at left backs ahead of a summer move.
That’s a concept that would have been hard to believe a year ago. We had an excess of players in that position: Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Lewis Hall and Ian Maatsen in the first team squad alone. Then Levi Colwill able to back them up.
The issue was who to sell, not who to buy.
🚨🔵 Chelsea are looking at left backs market for the summer transfer window as Ian Maatsen could leave the club.#CFC monitoring several talented left backs, same as Manchester United are doing. pic.twitter.com/W4pLBFXcAx
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 13, 2024
But a year of poor squad management later and we’re left with an injury prone Chilwell, Cucurella looking like he’s not starting standards for most teams in the league, and Hall and Maatsen out on loan and looking certain to leave to raise “pure profit” to repay our stunning debts.
So it should be no surprise that Romano says that we’re “monitoring several talented left backs” to fill the gap this summer.
We would imagine the plan is to sell or loan Cucurella, then have this new first team option ready to compete with Chilwell. Whether anyone will be interested in the Spaniard is another question.