Why signing Elseid Hysaj could do Chelsea a world of good
Sarri-ball is truly up and running at Chelsea right now, as the Blues sit atop the Premier League table after four wins from their first four matches. New signings Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic have settled into the team and have become an integral part of the squad. But according to a report by Daily Express, there was one more player Maurizio Sarri wanted to bring in before deadline day. And that is Napoli’s Elseid Hysaj.
Under Antonio Conte, Chelsea played a 3-4-3 formation where Cesar Azpilicueta was deployed as a right-sided centre-back and Victor Moses played as the right wing-back. But Sarri has changed the system to a 4-3-3, where Azpilicueta has been deployed as a right-back and as a result, Moses has been benched.
Azpilicueta is probably the best defender in the league but at 29 years of age, he doesn’t have the stamina to run up and down the right flank for 90 minutes. He is not a natural full-back anymore, meaning he can’t make those overlapping runs and supply crosses as effectively.
This is quite opposite to what Marcos Alonso is currently doing on the left flank. And maybe, that’s why Sarri wants a natural right-back who can be more involved in the final third of the pitch and that’s where Elseid Hysaj comes into the picture.
Like Jorginho, Hysaj has already played under Maurizio Sarri at Napoli. Furthermore, he could be the perfect right-back for the Blues. Daily Star claims that Chelsea will lodge a bid for the right-back, who is estimated to be valued at £25million, in the January transfer window.
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Hysaj’s arrival should provide Chelsea with some much-needed depth. Also, his arrival could be quite timely since the Blues might have to manage the knock-out rounds of the Europa League, the FA Cup as well as the Premier League at that time.
