While Chelsea were busy signing attacking recruits this summer, there was also an acknowledgement that the defence needed fixing too.
Frank Lampard ultimately secured the signings of Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy to do that, overhauling his defence in the process.
Before the arrival of Silva, though, Chelsea were linked with several central defenders around Europe and one of those was Borussia Monchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter.
He’s been quietly impressing at the German club since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 and reports in Germany stated that Chelsea were showing strong interest in him.
Kicker report on his displays today, following a big performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, and explain how he is ‘one of the most important pillars’ in Borussia’s defence.
They also carry comments from German legend Lothar Matthäus, who is full of praise for Ginter and predicts a big future for him.
That future could come via big money to another club and Kicker back up claims there is interest in him, stating that in the summer Inter Milan, Chelsea and Atlético Madrid ‘tried’ to sign him.
The newspaper offers no information on the nature of those attempts, just further confirmation that Chelsea were keen on him
They also fail to say whether the Blues will make another attempt for him in future but do say that interest is ‘likely to have increased’ given his performances this season.
There’s also a warning should they revive their interest, with it claimed that he’s ‘probably doubled’ his market value of €17m from three years ago, while Gladbach are also desperate to extend his contract as his current deal expires in 2022.
