Branislav Ivanovic has had a prolific and successful career at Chelsea, and the Chelsea fans in the Tavern love him…
Branislav Ivanovic has won everything there is to win with the Blues, and he has been an integral part for each of Chelsea’s managers in the past decade.
However, the past 18 months have not been easy for the Serbian.
No matter how hard he tries, he seems to have lost his pace and strength – and he doesn’t put fear into the life of his wingers anymore. If anything, it seems as if they do that to him nowadays.
The Blues might be able to scrape one or two more years out of him – but he isn’t at the peak of his powers and there’s no denying that anymore.
As a result, the punters here at the Football transfer Tavern have drafted a list of 3 players who could seamlessly fit in at Stamford Bridge.
Matteo Darmian
The Italian full-back played under Antonio Conte during Euro 2016 as the Azzurri were dumped out of the competition on penalties against Germany.
He does not appear to be flavour of the month at Old Trafford though.
Darmian introduced himself at Manchester United very impressively last season but after the winter he tailed off dramatically and has not been able to recapture his early form for the Red Devils.
As a result, Mourinho has put his faith in Antonio Valencia with Fosu Mensah acting as back up.
Darmian is the sort of player Conte could be attracted by. He already knows what the manager is looking for and he probably wouldn’t be exceptionally expensive.
Vierinha
The Portuguese full-back currently plies his trade in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg where he has been since 2012, making 104 league appearances and netting on 4 occasions.
He was part of the squad that beat Manchester United in the Champions League Group Stages last season, netting in the 3-2 victory that sent Die Wolfe through.
The Portuguese defender was also part of the squad that were victorious at Euro 2016 as he featured in all of Portugal’s group stage matches.
At 30-years-old he will be hoping to be at the peak of his career which should attract Conte as he likes defenders to be experienced, strong and successful – all boxes which Vierinha can tick.
Like Darmian, he shouldn’t be awfully expensive, either.
Seamus Coleman
Coleman is probably the least likely of the right-backs in question to joining Chelsea as he is absolutely crucial to Everton’s cause.
Since taking over as Everton’s number 1 right back, Coleman has been superb.
He is defensively able but is offensively unstoppable. He frequently provides goals and assists but does help keep clean sheets through an exceptional reading of the game and superb tackling ability.
Unlike the other two options, Coleman joining Chelsea might not slide under the radar quite so much, especially with the cash that would be likely to be involved in such a transfer.
Despite that, if Coleman was to make the move to London it wouldn’t come as a great shock – and the punters in the Tavern think that Coleman could flourish even more under Conte then he already is doing under Ronald Koeman. Only time will tell, though…
