Antonio Conte’s Chelsea managed to arrest the slump in the middle of the season when they lost to Liverpool and Arsenal in back to back games and are now back to winning ways.
Their comprehensive victory over Hull City was followed by an impressive performance against Leicester City as Antonio Conte decided to revert to a 3-man defense early in the league this season.
The manager will be happy with the return of the likes of John Terry and Kurt Zouma from injury but it does not look like the manager is happy with the options at his disposal and has been looking at options to further improve his defense in January.
This has seen him linked with a number of a star player from around Europe recently for a move in January.
One such player who is now extensively linked with a move to the Bridge is AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli.
The Italian international has been on the radar of the English outfit even in the summer with a number of big-money bids reportedly rejected by AC Milan. Reports suggest that Chelsea were ready to cough up to £35m for their man but the Italian outfit were reportedly not ready to let their star player leave in the summer.
However, Chelsea are desperate for some defensive additions to the squad and have decided to pressurize AC Milan yet against in January.
It is understood that Antonio Conte’s time in Italy saw him learn about Romagnoli and that he wants to add him to his Chelsea squad to help him in his hunt for glory in England.
Conte failed to use Romagnoli in the EURO16 as the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, and Leonardo Bonucci were all used ahead of him but Romagnoli is a top class defender and will surely improve the squad at the Bridge.
As already mentioned, Conte has the likes of Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma, John Terry and David Luiz as center back options while Cesar Azpilicueta has done an impressive job as a part of the back-3 for the side so far this season.
But Conte is now desperate to make his defense stronger and is ready to meet the valuation of the player in January.
AC Milan, who were not ready to let him go for a fee close to £35m have now slapped a £49m price tag on the 21-year old.
Though it is on the higher side and though Chelsea refused to improve the £35m bid, it is understood that Conte has his mind set over Romagnoli and is ready to splash the cash in January.
At 21, Romagnoli is a great option for the Blues but at his price, he might come into the league with loads of pressure and might not be able to help Chelsea in his debut season.
Do you think Chelsea should spill the cash for Romagnoli this January?