Chelsea should be an extremely different team under Maurizio Sarri, with the Italian known for playing the sort of attacking football that has rarely been seen at Stamford Bridge under Antonio Conte’s tenure.
If the tactics that the 59-year-old employed at his former clubs are anything to go by, then gone will be the three-man defence that has served the West London outfit so well across the last couple of campaigns, meaning that those who do play at the back will come under increasing pressure.
It should, therefore, come as no great surprise to see that the ex-Napoli boss is keen on recruiting at least one new member of the group that he will come to rely upon defensively, with the latest media reports suggesting that a £40m bid has been lodged for Mattia Caldara.
Currently contracted to Juventus, the highly-rated centre-back is yet to pull on the famous black and white jersey, though he has made over 50 Serie A appearances in the colours of his hometown club, Atalanta:
In 2016/17, the 24-year-old helped the Bergamo-based side to an unexpected fourth-place finish in Serie A, playing a part in 16 clean sheets along the way, following that up with another 24 appearances in 2017/18 as they again secured Europa League qualification.
An avid reader off the pitch, Caldara seems to be one step ahead of most of the attackers that he comes up against, anticipating their runs before they even make them, and Atalanta certainly enjoyed better top-flight results last season when he was involved: Mattia Caldara
Marseille and Borussia Dortmund are also thought to be interested in securing the centre-back’s signature, though the biggest barrier to any potential deal could be reports that AC Milan wants to include him in negotiations over Leonardo Bonucci returning to Turin.
