With a lack of depth in all of the defensive positions, Chelsea looked to rectify the issue with the signings of David Luiz and Fiorentina defender Marcos Alonso on deadline day. The latter was signed for an undisclosed fee, reportedly £23 million, with the Spaniard putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.
Speaking to the club’s official website, following confirmation of the move, the 25-year-old talked about his versatility as a defender, and also how he’s developed as a player since his previous stints in England with Bolton and Sunderland:
“I’ve played in different positions over the last few years due to a change in managers and systems, but I’ve always played mainly as a left-back, even if I can also play in left midfield or in central defence… I’m tall so I can deal with high balls and I think I’m a good crosser, but the most important thing is to try to put all of that together in order to help the team…. I’ve improved a lot in the last two years. Italy is like a masterclass for defenders. I used to play for Real Madrid and because you rarely had to defend there I used to work more on my attacking qualities, but in Italy I’ve improved defensively and also mentally”.
The History
Alonso joined Real Madrid’s academy at the age of nine, and progressed all the way through to the reserves, although he only made one first-team appearance, coming on as a late substitute against Racing Santander in April 2010, before joining Bolton ahead of the 2010/11 season.
He only made four Premier League appearances during his first season with the Trotters, though, while the following campaign saw the Spaniard struggle to establish himself due to injuries.
Following the club’s relegation to the Championship, he did manage to get regular pitch time, though, totalling four goals and two assists from 26 league appearances, before switching to Fiorentina in May 2013.
After failing to make much of an impression during his first six months in Italy, Alonso was sent out on loan to Sunderland for the second half of the 2013/14 season. He was a regular starter for the Black Cats at left-back, and made 16 appearances, gaining two assists in terms of attacking returns.
Over the past two seasons, Alonso has been an important member of Fiorentina’s squad, making 53 league appearances, playing predominantly at left-back and on the left side of midfield, scoring four goals and providing seven assists.
Alonso played four times for Spain Under 19s, but has yet to make his senior debut.
The Prospects
It’s fair to say that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte now has a wealth of options at his disposal.
Alonso is versatile enough to play at left-back, left wing-back and as part of a back three, Cesar Azpilicueta can play in either full-back or wing-back position and Branislav Ivanovic is equally adept in central defence and at right-back or right wing-back.
Like with the arrival of Luiz, then, the signing of Alonso initially provides more questions than answers in terms of how the Blues will line up defensively under the Italian, with the Brazilian, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma (when fit) all options in central defence. Recent reports have suggested that Zouma may well be surplus to requirement as a result of the new signings.
Conte has up to this point used the 4-1-4-1 formation, which has seen them win all three of their Premier League matches, and also seen Eden Hazard return to his best form on the left side of midfield.
While the Belgian was used in a central attacking role during pre-season, switching to the 3-5-2 system which Conte favoured with both Juventus and Italy may not suit Hazard’s game as much, while Willian may also struggle to find a spot in that formation unless he is considered at right wing-back.
In either formation, the arrival of Alonso at Stamford Bridge does put a little doubt as to Ivanovic’s starting position, with Azpilicueta having preferred playing as a right-back prior to his move to west London. That could allow Alonso to play on the left, either as a wing-back or as a traditional left-back in a four-man defence.
Comparing the underlying statistics of Alonso, Azpilicueta and Ivanovic last season, it was the former Fiorentina player who led the way for both goal attempts (one every 42.7 minutes) and key passes (one every 54.6 minutes), with Azpilicueta (338.8 and 161.3 respectively) and Ivanovic (110.4 and 237.8 respectively) some way behind.
Granted, Alonso made 11 appearances on the left side of midfield last term, so you’d expect his numbers to be more impressive, while Chelsea also endured a difficult season, meaning Azpilicueta and Ivanovic’s statistics were down on previous campaigns. Nonetheless, they do illustrate the former Bolton player is very comfortable in the final third, and clearly has the potential to deliver attacking returns.
Crossing is certainly one of the Spaniard’s main strengths, while he has also taken some free-kick duties.
Those attacking statistics have certainly been taken into consideration by those in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) towers though, with Alonso handed a 6.0 price tag – the same as all of Chelsea’s other likely defensive starters aside from Terry and Zouma, who are available at 5.5.
Given the current uncertainty surrounding Conte’s regular starters at the back, and the likely formation, it may perhaps be best to wait and see how the Blues line up over the next few weeks before investing in a Chelsea defender.
Considering their testing upcoming schedule (swa, LIV, ars, hul, LEI, MUN), that seems a sensible approach at this point.
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