Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been a busy man over the previous few weeks. Not only has he led the Blues to the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, but the Italian has significantly bolstered his first-team squad.
In came striker Liam Delap from Ipswich Town, before defender Mamadou Sarr joined the club from Strasbourg.
This was only the beginning. Since the start of last week, Maresca has secured a deal to sign forward Joao Pedro for £60m, giving Delap some competition.
Furthermore, Jamie Gittens has made the move to Stamford Bridge from Borussia Dortmund, costing Chelsea £51.5m in the process.
The revolving door at Stamford Bridge means plenty of players will be departing over the coming weeks, but it is evident that Maresca wants to overhaul his attacking options ahead of next season.
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Remarkably, he doesn’t appear to be finished with those three signings.
Despite the arrival of Estevao from Palmeiras, another of the globe’s top talents, Ethan Nwaneri, could make their way to Bridge over the next year.
Why Chelsea are looking at Ethan Nwaneri
The Arsenal sensation might be on the market next summer due to a stall in contract negotiations with the club.
Nwaneri has just one year left on his current deal with the Gunners and a new contract is yet to be agreed. Fabrizio Romano broke the news recently on X regarding Chelsea’s interest, saying:
“Chelsea have been showing interest in Ethan Nwaneri situation, only in case new deal won’t be sealed with Arsenal. Nwaneri & Arsenal, in talks over new deal while player wants game time guaranteed.”
There is no doubt that convincing Nwaneri to swap the Emirates for Stamford Bridge would be a real statement of intent by the Italian, especially considering his superstar potential.
Goals
4
2
Assists
2
0
Big chances created
1
1
Key passes per game
0.6
0.3
Successful dribbles per game
1.4
1
Last season saw the right-winger enjoy a stunning breakthrough. Across 37 matches in all competitions for the Gunners, the teenager scored nine goals and grabbed two assists.
When compared to his positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, the 18-year-old not only ranked in the top 7% for non-penalty goals (0.48) per 90, but also ranked in the top 1% for successful take-ons (3.54) per 90 over the previous 365 days.
This certainly proves how effective the youngster is when taking on opposition defenders. Combine it with the fact he is excellent in front of goal and Nwaneri would make for a stunning signing.
Why signing defenders makes more sense for Chelsea
Maresca does have a plethora of options in the final third, however. The likes of Estevao, Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens, Tyrique George and Cole Palmer could play out wide, while Delap, Nicolas Jackson and Pedro will be used in a central role next season.
In an ideal world, adding Nwaneri to this lineup would make Chelsea contenders for both the Premier League and Champions League, no doubt about that.
Other areas need to be bolstered, however, which indicates that a move for a Serie A defender would turn into a much better signing than the Arsenal teen.
Sarr is the only defensive signing that Maresca has made so far this summer, but the supporters will be hoping he won’t be the last.
Benfica duo Antonio Silva and Tomás Araújo have both been linked with a move to the Blues since the transfer window opened, but both potential moves have gone cold recently.
Now, it looks as though Chelsea are keen on making a move for Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini.
That’s according to Caught Offside who further report that Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen on the youngster, so the Blues won’t have it easy trying to lure him to the Premier League.
The report states that Scalvini could cost up to €60m (£51m), but still only 21, this could be a wonderful long-term signing by Maresca.
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Given the need for high-quality defenders, Scalvini might just turn out to be a better recruit than Nwaneri.
What Giorgio Scalvini could bring to Chelsea
The Atalanta starlet missed the majority of last season due to suffering a cruciate ligament injury, derailing the fine progress he had made during the 2023/24 campaign.
Hailed as a “top talent” by none other than Fabrizio Romano back in 2022, Scalvini enjoyed what was a breakthrough season in Serie A that term.
Defensively, he ranked in the top 4% for interceptions, in the top 16% for aerials won and in the top 22% for tackles per 90 when compared to his peers.
It was going forward that the young centre-back really stood out among his positional peers, however.
Indeed, not only did he rank in the top 16% for shot-creating actions, but the Atalanta defender also ranked in the top 5% for successful take-ons and in the top 11% for touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 in Serie A.
This proves that Maresca wouldn’t just be getting a solid centre-back who is able to command his backline, but one who can shine while going forward, playing in a way that is “so similar to [Declan] Rice” at Arsenal in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson.
The Italian could certainly add something different to his Chelsea defence by making a move for the 21-year-old this summer, no doubt about that.
He might still be raw, but as the statistics suggest, Scalvini has demonstrated his credentials in one of the toughest leagues on the continent.
Signing Nwaneri might inject yet more dynamism into the final third and give the supporters a major jolt, but the more important signing would be that of Scalvini.
“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” said Sir Alex Ferguson during his spell at Man United, so prioritising a move for up-and-coming defenders, rather than young attackers, might just turn Maresca’s team into serious challengers for major honours.
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