Why Liverpool should sign bargain versatile £25m defender from rivals after Fabrizio Romano update


With the season over and clubs left to ponder where they need improvement, transfer talk is all the rage ahead of the June 14 opening of the summer window as Liverpool face an uncertain window.
The arrival of the soon-to-be Liverpool manager Arne Slot brings new challenges, new tastes and new ideas and no-one really knows what deals will be done. In windows gone by, it was clear what Liverpool were in the market for under Jurgen Klopp. And while now the landscape is very different reports have claimed a defender and potentially a defensive midfielder could arrive this summer.
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Hide AdThere are countless names that have been linked to Liverpool by reputable sources but one player who hasn’t been reported - surprisingly - is Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah. Bear with us here; the 24-year-old home-grown talent has just put together his best run of form since Thomas Tuchel was in charge and won over the Chelsea fans in the latter part of the season. Yet, he could be sold this summer to comply with financial rules.
That’s according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano who told JDFootball, “Chelsea will sign 1-2 centre backs. They will have to get rid of Trevoh Chalobah for Financial Fair Play”. Chalobah and Conor Gallagher are the two home-grown players who could be set to depart and given that the midfielder made 37 starts and played over 4,000 minutes in all competitions and captained the side on 30 occasions, it is Chalobah that looks more likely to depart.
Liverpool will see Joel Matip depart on a free transfer and it leaves space for another defensive recruit. Instead of spending upwards of £50m on players like Sporting’s Ousmane Diomande or Goncalo Inacio or Benfica’s Antonio Silva or Bayer Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou - they can look to the Chelsea defender for someone who is half the price, league-proven and versatile across centre-back, right-back and defensive midfield.
It means Joe Gomez can cover left-back and centre-back while Chalobah offers cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley, as well as the central defenders and the trio of Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah and Ibrahim Konate can be the main trio that Slot utilises. Granted, Chalobah would be accepting a move where there would be no guarantee of a starting place because of the talent around him. However, it is likely he will be forced out as Chelsea need to sell a home-grown player.
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Hide AdNot only is he experienced, quick and defensively sound - his numbers show a player who could start for a top six side. He ranks highly for percentage of dribblers tackled, tackles in the final third, elite low level of fouls committed, pass completion, through balls, shots on target and clearances and it is clear he has the ball-playing ability to cut it with the high level at Anfield. Where he is an unrealistic signing on paper, he is an option for any top club this summer given Chelsea’s situation and he may be the best value for money at £25m at this level in this position on the market.
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