Why €40m right back is on Chelsea’s radar despite James and Gusto options | OneFootball

Chelsea have two really good right backs – two of the best in the Premier League – on their books at the moment. Yet this weekend we really don’t know who is going to feature against Bournemouth.

That’s because Reece James and Malo Gusto are both injured. James has suffered years of injury issues, leading to the purchase of Gusto as cover last summer. However Gusto has also shown himself to be vulnerable, perhaps in part because he’s been pushed to the limit covering for his teammate. Full back, in the modern game especially, is an incredibly demanding position physically, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that two top class options still doesn’t seem enough.

Vanderson playing for Monaco in Ligue 1.

Chelsea still pushing for more options in crucial – and demanding – position

To that end, we give some credence to the exclusive from CaughtOffside today that Chelsea are one of the teams interested in Monaco right back Vanderson.

The 23 year old moved to Ligue 1 in January 2022 and already has 71 league appearances to his name there, scoring 6 goals and assisting 7 times in that period.

A fee of around €35-40m is mentioned in this report, which seems a fair assessment of how much the Monegasques would want for their latest talent. Clearly the disappointing impact of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi, the last two players bought from them, isn’t putting us off. But our sporting directors may consider a major outlay in that position an extravagance.

We’d rather see rising star of the youth team Josh Acheampong used in that position, certainly more than Disasi playing out of position, as we’ve seen in the UEFA Europa Conference League already this season. But this management team seem just as disinclined to give youth players a chance a the others we’ve had over the years, which is a real disappointment.