Chelsea poised to beat Manchester United to £80 million Brazilian international
Chelsea are leading the chase for Juventus’ Alex Sandro.
According to The Sun, Alex Sandro is intent on joining the Premier League in January with Chelsea being his first-choice. He was a target of the Blues during the summer, but they were put off the by the £80 million tag that the Italian champions put on him.
The relationship between the player and the club has deteriorated over the summer, so he looks likely to leave in the summer for a lower fee. Sandro is in his third season at the club after signing from Porto for €26 million. He has been an absolute bargain for the club considering he is one of the top left-backs in the world.
What does he offer?
His versatility has allowed him to switch between full-back and wing-back roles. He was part of a fearsome defence last season which was close to winning the club’s first treble as they fell at the last hurdle in the Champions League final. In his 58 league appearances, Sandro has contributed six goals and ten assists. While in the Champions League he provided three assists in 22 games. This shows how much of an attacking threat he provides from the left flanks.
Antonio Conte is wanting to upgrade in the left wing-back area. Marcus Alonso has performed well, but Sandro offers more solidity while still bringing a significant attacking threat. It would also allow him to rotate between them as Alonso is currently being overplayed due to the lack of a viable alternative. The demanding nature of the role means that this is unsustainable over the course of the season.
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Manchester United are also after him because José Mourinho doesn’t trust his options in this area. He has used a variety of players over the course of the season with Ashley Young being his preferred option. However, he isn’t ideal because he is a winger playing in a full-back role. Luke Shaw is a viable option for the role, but Mourinho doesn’t seem to trust him in his team for whatever reason.
Is he likely to join?
This transfer looks likely because Sandro is rarely played by Max Allegri this season. They have Kwadwo Asamoah and Mattia De Sciglio who can play in this role, so they have options in this role. He would also command a high transfer fee which they could reinvest back into the squad to help their title push. Sandro doesn’t want to be there so selling him is the smart move.
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Chelsea already have a strong defence with their title-winning campaign last season being based on this. However, Sandro would definitely bolster it and it would give Conte another rotation option which is important because they are competing on multiple fronts.