Why Lucas Verissimo to Chelsea would be a wise move by the club
According to Brazilian publication Globo Esporte (h/t Daily Express), Chelsea are considering a move for Santos defender Lucas Verissimo.
The report claims that Chelsea are looking to add new defensive reinforcements ahead of next season and have identified the £8.8m-rated Verisimmo as a suitable candidate. The Santos centre-back has made 102 appearances for the Brazilian side since making his senior team debut in 2016. He has gone on to become one of the key members in the current line-up.
He made 33 league appearances and managed an impressive 13 clean sheets in the process that saw Santos concede a mere 33 goals in 38 games. Verisimmo’s rock-solid displays at the back were crucial to Santos’ rise to second place in the table last season compared to their lowly 10th-place finish the season before.
With the 24-year-old Brazilian clearly giving a glimpse of his consistency and defensive abilities at the back in recent times, Chelsea’s interest in Verisimmo makes complete sense.
Verisimmo can offer Chelsea consistency at the back
Frank Lampard’s Blues have had a successful campaign in the league so far, with the club sitting 4th in the table. Despite being fourth this season, Chelsea have had struggles in their defence, meaning they could do with a new face like Verisimmo.
The Blues have conceded 39 goals from 29 league games, speaking volumes regarding the side’s issues in their defence. They are the side who have conceded the second-highest number of goals among teams in the top-10 category, indicating clear signs of inconsistency at the back.
Antonio Rudiger remains Lampard’s obvious first-choice defender. However, he just returned after a long injury lay off and was yet to hit full form before the league was suspended. Lampard has failed to find a consistent partner for Rudiger despite having experimented with the likes of Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, and academy graduate Fikayo Tomori.
Though Tomori has impressed the Blues boss, featuring 15 times in the Premier League, he still has a lot to work on his game. Zouma and Christensen, on the other hand, have made 15 and 22 league appearances each. However, the pair have failed to impress Lampard yet.
Both of them have been inconsistent and are at times prone to errors. Moreover, at £8.8m, he is a cheaper alternative to many other defenders from across Europe. With Chelsea yet to decide on a consistent centre-back partnership, a move for Verisimmo seems like a much-needed move.
Read more:
- Why Chelsea must press ahead with their pursuit of Federico Bernardeschi
- Why Chelsea signing Alex Telles is a good move by the club
- Chelsea simply shouldn’t let go of their £110,000-a-week key star Jorginho and here’s why
Verdict
Chelsea’s displays at the back this season have shown that they need to bring in a new face if they wish to climb the table next season. Having proved his mettle already at Santos in the last few years, Verisimmo, who is available for a cheaper price, would be a good option.
