Replacing Silva, Chelsea is about to warmly welcome Pepe’s ‘heir’ as a new ‘fulcrum’

 Replacing Silva, Chelsea is about to warmly welcome Pepe’s ‘heir’ as a new ‘fulcrum’

Anh Tuan 02/12/2022

According to recent reports, Chelsea is well-positioned to win the bidding war for the services of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol and secure his services.

According to recent reports, Chelsea is in a strong position to secure the services of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol and win the bidding war for his services.

It has been reported that Italian powerhouse Juventus are interested in acquiring the services of the gifted 20-year-old, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the very best young players in international sport.

Gvardiol has had a tremendously successful career with Leipzig, and it appears that he will be making a significant move in the near future. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Chelsea is now in a better position to acquire his services than Juventus is at this time.

The Blues would be wise to bolster their defense by acquiring a player of Gvardiol’s caliber, as the Croatian international appears to have the potential to be the ideal long-term replacement for the experienced Brazilian player Thiago Silva.

Kalidou Koulibaly, who has not been totally convincing thus far since signing in the summer, and Wesley Fofana, who has had problems with injuries, are both reasons why Chelsea could do well to bring in an upgrade on Kalidou Koulibaly.

After the team was handed the setback of losing both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to free agency, these guys were brought in as replacements for those two players.

Gvardiol would also be a great addition for Juventus, who are in need of rebuilding their defense following the recent losses of Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt and would benefit greatly from adding Gvardiol to their squad.

Graham Potter faces significant Chelsea training issue as Romelu Lukaku leads Kai Havertz

Graham Potter is used to not having “normal” at Chelsea, but things will steadily grow closer in the next days and weeks. As the World Cup group stage comes to its close, players will be leaving their international bubbles once more and heading back to club competition.

How managers, particularly Potter, handle this issue and the emotions of disappointed players will be crucial, but having a growing group back together will improve the following weeks. Chelsea play again in the league on December 27 before another quickfire run of games into the new year.

First-team players Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Trevoh Chalobah, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have had a midseason break, but their teammates will return soon.

Chelsea know that England’s stars will be in Qatar until Sunday at least. After England’s last-16 tie with Senegal, two players will return, three if England loses. Potter will need Kai Havertz during the reintegration process.

Despite overcoming Costa Rica 4-2, the German forward again failed to advance from the group stage. Havertz scored two on the night and continues his fine goal-scoring streak for his country, but he will have to live with failing to advance from a group with relative minnows Japan and Costa Rica.

Though emotional, having Havertz back may help Potter. The 23-year-old Blues star has struggled in England. He has three goals under the new boss, but at £70m he has yet to impress many of his long-term chances at Stamford Bridge.

Potter hopes to re-energize Havertz and obtain domestic results from him with a few extra weeks.

Romelu Lukaku will leave Qatar furious. The Belgian striker’s team lost to Croatia in the final group game, eliminating the event considered the last chance for elite players. His return at Chelsea fizzled and his loan at Inter Milan has been beset by injury, so Potter appears unlikely to manage him at SW6, but his exit will give him more time to train for the Italian league season.

Lukaku returns from competitions poorly. He scored 10 times for Everton in 2014. Manchester United scored only 12 after Russia 2018. These were his lowest club totals. Chelsea failed him after Euro 2020.

Havertz must break this streak and return stronger after the major tournament to succeed.