Our Chelsea fans here inside the Transfer Tavern are shaking their heads at the some of the names that the Blues have been linked with in recent weeks.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is clearly in the hunt for a backup striker to Spaniard Alvaro Morata, however, in recent weeks some of the names that have been reported with a move to Stamford Bridge is mind-boggling to the majority of our regulars in the bar.
What it does scream out though, is that Conte is on the scout across the Premier League and Europe for a tall target man, something completely different from Morata. Clearly, Edin Dzeko is a good player, though perhaps not the answer over in SW6.
The barman can see why the Peter Crouch link was floating around but at the striker’s current age, it would have been a very strange move. Although the rest of the bar staff think it all screams of desperation from the Blues, as they bid to bring new blood into the squad and avoid the disaster of the summer window.
Considering this, our landlord takes a look at two target men who Conte should take into consideration…
Leonardo Pavoletti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHO8Ja3Fxl4
The Napoli striker is currently on loan at Cagliari and with the Italian standing at 188cm, he could be the perfect target man and back for Conte’s current star striker Morata. He’s currently scoring just under one goal in every three of his 17 appearances this season for the Serie A side.
He’s strong in the air and had a high heading-to-shot ratio, so our local statto in the bar reckons anyway and he’s rarely wrong to be fair.
Ivan Santini
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkemx6LmuE
Croatian, Ivan Santini currently plays in the French Ligue 1 with AS Cannes. Playing as a target man, he stands just 2cm taller than the aforementioned Pavoletti and has a steady one goal in three games ratio this season. He’d provide the aerial strength and prowess that Conte seems to be looking for at the moment, too.
Many of the punters in the bar think that Santini would be the better option for him being younger, taller and more prolific than Pavoletti.
