The arrival of a classy, experienced new defender at the Bridge is, says the club, ‘something many Chelsea fans have been wanting for quite some time’.
Quite some time? They’ve been tearing their hair out for two years!
Enrolling Thiago Silva from PSG for a year, with the option of a second, may prove key to halting the Blues’ defence’s sieve-like quality, with 58 goals conceded in the league alone last season.
It still seems a minor miracle that Chelsea finished in the Champions League places after such generosity to opponents.
Hopefully drafting in a man who turns 36 in a couple of weeks, and who was the most expensive defender on the planet when Paris signed him eight years ago, will give his teammates some sorely needed confidence at the back.
Add to the mix the £50m left back Ben Chilwell, who Frank Lampard has been admiring all season, and overnight the back line looks sturdier.
The mystery is who will be between the sticks. Lamps simply doesn’t rate Kepa, even as an expensive reserve keeper, and Willy Caballero, while still a reliable netminder, is almost as old as the manager.
If Kepa needs some inspiration to up his game, he need look no further than Chelsea Women’s Ann-Katrin Berger, whose fine performance at the weekend helped the Blues lift the Women’s Community Shield with a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Man City.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Want to read more news stories like this? Subscribe to our weekly e-news bulletin.
