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Six players Chelsea can sign in January to fix their defence
Analysis
Chelsea's defence is in major need of reinforcements.
Despite spending the GDP of a small island nation each transfer window, Chelsea have repeatedly failed to truly address the major area of weakness in their team.
Chelsea's defence and goalkeeping positions are subpar. The talent there does not match the talent elsewhere in the team and this is exposed by teams like Brentford and most emphatically Bayern Munich who ripped the Blues to bits in the Champions League.
Current ETV
Robert Sánchez
GK
Chelsea
Robert Sánchez
GK
Chelsea
ETV Range
€22.4M - €27.4M
The Blues have conceded 6 goals this season, so FootballTransfers has come up with six players Chelsea could sign to fix their problem positions and get them looking like true contenders. Here they are:
Goalkeeper: Mile Svilar
Robert Sanchez was Chelsea's second-best player in the Club World Cup final win over PSG. The Spaniard put in a titanic display, repeatedly denying opponents with big saves and allowing Chelsea to become world champions.
That is the level Chelsea can achieve with a proper goalkeeper. And while Robert Sanchez is regrettably poor in net, Mile Svilar is certainly a proper goalkeeper.
The 26 year-old Serbian international is a consistently brilliant presence in the Roma goal. Quick off his line with superb reflexes, he brings authority between the sticks.
According to FBref, Svilar prevented a massive 8.5 goals last season (seventh among Europe's top five leagues) and he's already prevented 1.9 this season (eighth in Europe's top five leagues).
The problem here is that Svilar signed a contract extension in July and is tied down to Roma until 2030. This means any bid for him would require significant investment.
Current ETV
Mile Svilar
GK
Roma
Mile Svilar
GK
Roma
ETV Range
€25.6M - €31.2M
But hey Chelsea broke the world record fee for a goalie to sign Kepa and that was even before Todd showed up! They could figure it out, and it'd be worth it.
Goalkeeper: Yehvann Diouf
Having missed out on Joan Garcia, by far the best young goalkeeper in Europe, as well as other promising stoppers like Lucas Chevalier and Senne Lammens... all of whom are under 25 years-old and moved for less than €50 million this summer, Chelsea are in an uncomfortable position.
Yehvann Diouf moved from Reims to Nice this summer, and has a contract until 2030 like Svilar. So again this will require Chelsea to lay down a chunk of change, but that's the situation they put themselves in by ignoring the position in the summer.
Current ETV
Yehvann Diouf
GK
Nice
Yehvann Diouf
GK
Nice
ETV Range
€12.6M - €15.4M
Diouf could well be worth it, however. A 25 year-old newly-capped Senegalese international, Diouf prevented a mind-boggling 14.6 goals last season for Reims (first among Europe's top five leagues).
That feels like a fluke, but already for new club Nice he's prevented 1.2 goals which is good for 20th in Europe's top five leagues. So he's got a degree of consistency to him, and that's a quality Chelsea could use.
Centre-back: Nathan Collins
Chelsea have a vast assortment of centre-backs but with the exception of Levi Colwill it really isn't clear if any of them are actually great, and Colwill injured his ACL so he may never be the same again.
Chelsea, then, need a centre-back. More than one, really.
Current ETV
Nathan Collins
D (C)
Brentford
Nathan Collins
D (C)
Brentford
ETV Range
€27.9M - €34.1M
Nathan Collins should be their first port of call. The 24 year-old 6'4 Irish international is Premier League proven thanks to his time with Brentford and would bring immediate size and quality to Chelsea's defence.
Collins is exceptional in the air and reads the game really well. He'd bolster Chelsea's ability to defend crosses and cutbacks, which is what Bayern really punished them with.
Centre-back: Natan
From Nathan to Natan (how cool would it be to pair them together?) another option for the Blues at centre-back is the 24 year-old Brazilian.
Natan is a powerhouse of a defender who was at the heart of Betis' defence last season as they fired their way to the Conference League final (against Chelsea).
Current ETV
Natan
D (C)
Real Betis
Natan
D (C)
Real Betis
ETV Range
€10.2M - €12.5M
Natan is physically robust and strong in the air. He's an ideal fit for the Premier League. And while he only jointed Betis (permanently) in the summer, he will have an affordable release clause Chelsea could pay (or they could just hit Betis with a chunky offer).
Centre-back: Ousmane Camara
Sometimes what your defence needs is a really big lad. An imposing presence can be a huge advantage in defending, just ask Virgil van Dijk.
To that end, Chelsea should probably look at Ousmane Camara. The French-born Mali international stands 1.97 metres tall (basically 6'5 1/2) and is an immense presence.
Current ETV
Ousmane Camara
D (C)
Angers
Ousmane Camara
D (C)
Angers
ETV Range
€0.5M - €0.8M
Camara has 33 clearances so far this season, the most in Ligue 1 and seventh across Europe's top five leagues. He also has a combined 13 tackles and interceptions, second only to Marco Senesi among the top 12 clearance-makers.
Moreover, Camara's contract ends next summer, meaning you could probably get him for next to nothing in January in additon to signing one of the other centre-backs.
Centre-back: Marc Guehi
No elaboration is needed on the qualities of Marc Guehi. A stupendous footballer and England international, Liverpool have been trying repeatedly to sign him for what feels like a year now.
But Guehi will leave Crystal Palace, as his contract expires summer 2026. The presumption is that Liverpool will simply sign him for free, but what if Chelsea jump the queue?
Current ETV
Marc Guéhi
D (CL)
C. Palace
Marc Guéhi
D (CL)
C. Palace
ETV Range
€38.2M - €46.7M
What if, on January 1st, they offer Palace €30 million, giving them plenty of time to sort out a replacement before the transfer window shuts? Liverpool will try and haggle the price down but Chelsea could simply bullrush it.
And of course the final consideration is that Guehi was raised in the Chelsea youth system. From the ages of 7 to 21 he was with the Blues, winning a quadruple with the U18's in 2018, even playing 2 EFL Cup games for the senior team in 2019/20.
This would be a triumphant homecoming for Guehi and he would be the ideal choice to walk in and fix that leaky Chelsea defence.
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