Why Chelsea must end their pursuit of Vinicius Junior
According to AS Diario report (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea have made an approach for Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.
The report also claims that the Blues had initially made contact with the 20-year-old Brazilian as early as November in a bid to bolster his attacking options. Meanwhile, Vinicius, who joined Real Madrid from Flamengo back in 2018, is under contract at the Spanish capital until June 2025 and has a hefty £630million release clause.
Despite arriving two years ago, Vinicius has never really established himself at the Santiago Bernabeu and has scored just eight goals from 69 appearances across all competitions so far.
He is clearly not a favourite of Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane either, with the Frenchman preferring newcomer Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio, and teenager Rodrygo ahead of him in the first-team setup.
Vinicius would just be a surplus to requirements at Chelsea
The Blues, on the other hand, have enjoyed a successful campaign in the league this season under new boss Frank Lampard. The Englishman has steered the side to a fourth-place finish this term, thereby securing them a Champions League spot next season.
With the side’s transfer ban now lifted, Chelsea were seen splashing the cash on RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech. Werner plays as a forward while Ziyech mostly features on the wings.
These two signings suggest that Lampard is keen to add more firepower to his attack in order to close the gap between the top-three and better his side’s displays. With Ziyech’s arrival, Chelsea now have three outright wingers in their ranks, the other two being Christian Pulisic, and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
US international Pulisic has been sensational this season for the Blues, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in 25 league games. Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, has been pretty decent, racking up one goal and five assists from 22 Premier League appearances in a season which has otherwise been hampered by injuries.
Lampard also has young playmaker Mason Mount at his disposal, with the academy graduate taking on the winger’s responsibilities this term as per the team’s requirements. Now with the in-form Ziyech also in the side, a move for Vinicius seems totally unnecessary for the Blues.
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Verdict
Chelsea have already spent big on Werner and Ziyech, and another addition such as Vinicius would just be a waste of time and money. They already have in-form wingers in Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, meaning Vinicius will have to wait in queue if a move happens. Hence, they should end their pursuit of the young Brazilian and concentrate on areas that need real improvement.
