As things stand, with Gary Cahill, John Terry, David Luiz, César Azpilicueta (because that’s what he is now), Kurt Zouma back on the bench and Andreas Christensen likely to transfer back to Chelsea at the end of the season, a new centre-back seems like the least of Antonio Conte’s concerns for January.
The London club are comfortably top of the Premier League after 17 games, six points clear of second place Liverpool, and have kept nine clean sheets in their last 11 since their 3-0 loss to Arsenal back in September.
Despite all of this, Corriere dello Sport on Wednesday, looking at Roma’s contract renewal situation, make it clear that Antonio Conte could still be interested in signing Kostas Manolas from the Serie A side.
The player, who was a reported target for many Premier League clubs in the summer, was promised a new deal that would see his wages increased, yet nothing has been sorted.
With the
player ‘still appreciated’ by Chelsea, Corriere say a possible offer for the Greek defender originating from Stamford Bridge in January ‘shouldn’t be excluded’.
The Italian newspaper also explain that Mino Raiola is ‘still very active with the defender’s agent’, suggesting the well-known representative has been called in to help get matters sorted.
And we all know that if Raiola wants something done, he tends to, most of the time, get his way, even if it is just for a contract renewal.
