Four Chelsea defenders could be heading to the Stamford Bridge exit door this summer in a transfer period which promises substantial change amid Todd Boehly's takeover plans.
Whilst the wait goes on for the part LA Dodgers owner to dot the I's and cross the T's on his proposed £4.25billion purchase of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, all talk, now that the FA Cup final has come and gone, has turned towards the impending summer transfer window. With Boehly's takeover expected to be completed by May 31, the Blues are expected to have their special license removed and consequently, this would allow the normal transfer operations to continue after months of a stalemate regarding the ability for Marina Granovskaia and others having to negotiate incomings and outgoings ahead of 2022/23.
Nonetheless, deals are seemingly being worked on by agents behind the scenes who are ready to spring their head once this whole takeover saga comes to an end. Antonio Rudiger's free transfer move to Real Madrid is all ready to go through whilst Andreas Christensen's exit to Barcelona seems imminent. Additionally, both Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta could be joining their Danish teammate in Catalunya if the latest update from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano is to be believed.
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He tweeted: "Barcelona are working on both Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. No doubts on Alonso: he’s set to leave Chelsea but Barça deal depends on final price. Azpilicueta has a two-year deal bid on the table from Barça, waiting for a meeting with Chelsea to decide his future."
If this double deal was to go through officially alongside the aforementioned two exits in the centre of defence, Boehly and his consortium could have to fork out enough money to sign up to four transfer replacements in what is expected to be a big defensive shakeup this summer in west London. Now, it is already common knowledge that the likes of Jules Kounde and internal recruit Levi Colwill could be brought in to make the foundation for next season's defence but a replacement for Alonso hasn't really been on the agenda since he was linked to an exit in January.
At that time, the likes of Layvin Kurzawa and a few other experienced names were lined up in case the former Fiorentina and Bolton man forced a move this mid-season, however, one name that was mentioned back then which has sprung up once again is Stuttgart full-back Borna Sosa. Christian Falk of Sport Bild has updated: "Barcelona makes the Deal with Marcos Alonso: Chelsea has Borne Sosa on their Transfer-List."
A player who has been compared to David Beckham based on his attacking abilities which rank amongst the top percentile in comparison to other full-backs in European football, according to FBRefcom. "Borna Sosa's said that David Beckham is his role model, and I think he has the same qualities," VfB Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat told Bild last season.
"He puts in crosses from every angle: sometimes chipped, sometimes drilled, sometimes flat, sometimes in behind, sometimes to the front post, other times to the back post." Boehly and Tuchel already seem to agree that Mateo Kovacic's international teammate could be a natural replacement for Alonso based on the attacking similarities between the pair.
