Chelsea’s stance on signing a centre-back in January now revealed after Enzo Maresca’s demand
Chelsea were embarrassed by Brighton on 27 September as their worrying lack of depth at centre-back was exposed.
Football Insider tipped Yankuba Minteh to cause Marc Cucurella problems as he ran the show down the right-hand side in Brighton‘s 3-1 victory over the Blues.
The battering highlighted a chink in Enzo Maresca‘s armour with the defence torn apart by the Seagulls’ fast counter-attacks that became more prevalent after Trevoh Chalobah’s sending off.
In light of the poor performance, former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown exclusively told Football Insider on 29 September that Maresca will be sacked if he can’t turn things around quickly at Chelsea.
The west London outfit are looking rather depthless at centre-back as they consider their stance on the position ahead of the January transfer window.
Chelsea content with centre-back options as Enzo Maresca remains frustrated
Sources told Football Insider on 22 September that Chelsea were monitoring Man City’s Nico O’Reilly.
The talented Englishman can play both at centre-back and left-back but, he signed a new long-term deal running until 2030 which has scuppered the Blues’ chances of landing him.
In spite of this blow, Chelsea’s Daily Mail reporter Kieran Gill exclusively updated Football Insider on the club’s approach to their centre-back crisis.
He said: “I don’t think Chelsea will be signing a centre-back in January in truth.
“They looked in the summer but decided there wasn’t an obvious upgrade out there better than what they already have. By January they’ll have defenders closer to coming back too, hopefully.”
Gill then confirmed if the Italian manager wanted to sign a central defender in the summer, adding: “Yeah, Maresca made it fairly clear he wanted a centre-back in the summer.
“But, the club felt the options they had in-house were already sufficient and better than those available out there.”
Josh Acheampong the key to Chelsea’s defensive woes
Brown exclusively told Football Insider that Chelsea made a U-turn on loaning out Josh Acheampong after Levi Colwill’s injury.
The 19-year-old started the first game of the season in a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace and looked extremely comfortable on the ball.
Yet, the return of more experienced central defenders saw the England Under-21 international forced to settle for the bench, with his only other appearance as part of an emergency substitution in the defeat to Brighton.
Given the Italian’s lack of options, Acheampong could be in-line to make his claim to cover Chalobah in the league whilst he serves his suspension.
The club’s position on working with the defenders they already have indicates that Maresca will have to use those available to him rather than continuing to complain over his preference for a new January addition.