3. Emanuele Giaccherini (Ex-Sunderland)
Call it the connect of the Italian job or something like that, if at all Antonio Conte does indeed take the reins at Stamford Bridge in the summer, one of his first moves could be for Sunderland flop Emanuele Giaccherini. According to reports, Conte is a big fan of the 30-year-old Giaccherini because of the bond that grew during their time at Juventus. Quoting a journal that says “a reunion could be on the cards in west London” if Conte is anointed the successor to Guus Hiddink in the coming weeks at Stamford Bridge. That is a statement despite the fact that the midfielder failed to fire when he left Juve for Sunderland in 2013 and was “farmed out on loan to Bologna” in last year after two miserable seasons at the Black Cats. Giaccherini has been in better form for Bologna but it would still be a gamble by Conte if he puts his faith in the 30-year-old.In the wake of a major rebuilding programme, Chelsea sets out to target Sunderland’s Emanuele Giaccherini as first Chelsea signing when Conte takes over charge of the Blues in the summer transfer season. Still a hot pursuit since apparently, the 30-year-old has scored six goals in 19 games this term, and his form has captured the imagination of Conte. Be it a good transfer prospect or a poor summer signing later, the fact that he is able to play on the wing and as a central attacking midfielder, Giaccherini would be arriving at Chelsea in a position which is already well-stocked shows enough clarity that Conte has seen something from his kinsman to suggest he could be a star.
Other adventurous transfer deals that could go out from the business officials at Stamford Bridge must reach out to players who have Premier League experience specifically so as to optimize the steadfast English club with optimum quality, not quantity. They could be on the look-out for Jamie Vardy, Jose Fonte, Erik Lamela, Erikson among other stars. Watch out for Chelsea to make insane bids for out-of-England showbiz footballers from the likes of Edinson Cavani, Marquinhos of PSG to Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi and Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain. In any case, I don’t see a reason for not getting a star like Romelu Lukaku to the club right away. So, either the officials are dumb or the modern game has become too pricey for providing a well-suited footballer, his well-suited place without thinking twice about the huge sums of money cause it only makes the club bigger. And please! Keep him for long, this time.
In the words of Chelsea’s interim boss, Guus Hiddink, who described the Blues as a team “in transition” after the PSG defeat, I’d say there is a lot of testament to the headline of a massive revamp due at Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, with a change in manager expected this summer, there’s likely to be plenty of transfer activity too which involves less of reviewing player profiles and more of retaining Chelsea’s lost ideals as a top club that is desperate to catch hold of world-class players who want to bring glory and not only glitter to to the stature of a European giant which languishes in the Premier League without any gold or silverware currently.