With the transfer merry-go-round in
full swing, a number of top teams are strengthening accordingly to achieve
their seasonal goals. However, a lack of movement for top level centre-backs –
Manchester United aside – means Premier League sides run the risk of being
caught short at the back in their quest for glory.
There have been rumours of a host of
defenders swapping Serie A for the Premier League and here, WhoScored.com
compares the five main central defensive targets for some of England’s top
teams.
Leonardo Bonucci-Juventus.
The primary centre-back donning the
back pages this summer, Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci has been linked with a
big-money switch to the Premier League for much of the transfer window.
Chelsea, Manchester City and
Manchester United are all keen on adding to the 29-year-old to the ranks,
having established himself as one of the finest players in his position on the
continent. Of the 35 Serie A games Bonucci started last season, Juventus kept a
clean sheet in 18, with the Old Lady hopeful of retaining the Italian’s
services.
The arrival of Medhi Benatia puts
Bonucci’s Juventus future in doubt, while Daniele Rugani’s continued
development suggests the Serie A champions could cope without the Italy
international, though it would be a big loss. The three Premier League sides
linked could certainly utilise a player of Bonucci’s talent. Of all defenders,
only one has played more accurate passes than Bonucci (5295) in the last three
Serie A seasons.
Newly-appointed Chelsea boss Antonio
Conte is also familiar with Bonucci’s capability having tapped into the
player’s potential during their time together at Juventus, however it looks as
though the Manchester pair are leading the race to sign Bonucci.
Conte, though, appears to have
altered his transfer plans, instead swapping his attention to another Serie A
centre-back.
Kalidou Koulibaly-Napoli.
The man dubbed K2, Kalidou Koulibaly
was brought to Napoli by former boss Rafa Benitez. In his debut campaign in
Italy, the Senegalese defender appeared out of his depth and, after a solitary
season, Napoli were rumoured to be considering cutting their losses on the
centre-back.
However, Maurizio Sarri opted to
instead invest the time into improving Koulibaly and was rewarded. Only
Juventus (20) conceded fewer goals than Napoli (32) in Serie A last season with
the 25-year-old playing an essential role at the heart of the defence.
Having won possession in the
defensive third the third most times (159) in Italy last season, Koulibaly’s
defensive qualities coupled with his passing ability renders him ideal for
Premier League footballer.
Sarri famously utilised drones to
help improve Koulibaly’s positioning and it’s this approach to coaching that
has helped the defender establish himself as one of the most sought after
centre-backs on the continent this summer.
Kostas Manolas
Kostas Manolas is only 25-years-old
given how assured he has become at the back. Snapped up by Roma two years ago
as Benatia’s replacement following his move to Bayern Munich, the Greek centre-back
successfully transferred his fine form for Olympiacos to Italy and has quickly
risen to prominence as one of the best in his position on the continent, and
it’s no secret that Manolas has all the makings of succeeding in the Premier
League.Dominant in the air, it’s no wonder to see the Greece international won
more aerial duels (125) than any other player in Serie A last season.
With a number of Premier League sides
adopting a direct approach, this facet of Manolas’ game would benefit any
English team. He’s still far from the finished article of course, having
committed four errors that led to shots on goal for Roma in Serie A last
season, one of the poorer returns, but there is still ample time for the
defender to hone his skills.
However, this is somewhat to be
expected from a defender required to – like Bonucci and Koulibaly – play the
ball out from defence. A pass success rate of 86.5% from an average of 47.7
passes per game in Serie A last season was a modest return for the centre-back
and Manolas is one who would realise his potential with the correct coaching.
Roma head coach Luciano Spalletti insists Manolas is not for sale, but that
won’t stop Europe’s elite from testing the club’s reluctance to sell.
With the transfer merry-go-round in
full swing, a number of top teams are strengthening accordingly to achieve
their seasonal goals. However, a lack of movement for top level centre-backs –
Manchester United aside – means Premier League sides run the risk of being
caught short at the back in their quest for glory.
There have been rumours of a host of
defenders swapping Serie A for the Premier League and here, WhoScored.com
compares the five main central defensive targets for some of England’s top
teams.
Leonardo Bonucci-Juventus.
The primary centre-back donning the
back pages this summer, Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci has been linked with a
big-money switch to the Premier League for much of the transfer window.
Chelsea, Manchester City and
Manchester United are all keen on adding to the 29-year-old to the ranks,
having established himself as one of the finest players in his position on the
continent. Of the 35 Serie A games Bonucci started last season, Juventus kept a
clean sheet in 18, with the Old Lady hopeful of retaining the Italian’s
services.
The arrival of Medhi Benatia puts
Bonucci’s Juventus future in doubt, while Daniele Rugani’s continued
development suggests the Serie A champions could cope without the Italy
international, though it would be a big loss. The three Premier League sides
linked could certainly utilise a player of Bonucci’s talent. Of all defenders,
only one has played more accurate passes than Bonucci (5295) in the last three
Serie A seasons.
The English trio favour a system that
involves playing the ball out from defence, an area the Juventus man excels in
having gained a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘passing’.
Newly-appointed Chelsea boss Antonio
Conte is also familiar with Bonucci’s capability having tapped into the
player’s potential during their time together at Juventus, however it looks as
though the Manchester pair are leading the race to sign Bonucci.
Conte, though, appears to have
altered his transfer plans, instead swapping his attention to another Serie A
centre-back.
Kalidou Koulibaly-Napoli.
The man dubbed K2, Kalidou Koulibaly
was brought to Napoli by former boss Rafa Benitez. In his debut campaign in
Italy, the Senegalese defender appeared out of his depth and, after a solitary
season, Napoli were rumoured to be considering cutting their losses on the
centre-back.
However, Maurizio Sarri opted to
instead invest the time into improving Koulibaly and was rewarded. Only
Juventus (20) conceded fewer goals than Napoli (32) in Serie A last season with
the 25-year-old playing an essential role at the heart of the defence.
Having won possession in the
defensive third the third most times (159) in Italy last season, Koulibaly’s
defensive qualities coupled with his passing ability renders him ideal for
Premier League footballer.
Sarri famously utilised drones to
help improve Koulibaly’s positioning and it’s this approach to coaching that
has helped the defender establish himself as one of the most sought after
centre-backs on the continent this summer.
Kostas Manolas
Kostas Manolas is only 25-years-old
given how assured he has become at the back. Snapped up by Roma two years ago
as Benatia’s replacement following his move to Bayern Munich, the Greek centre-back
successfully transferred his fine form for Olympiacos to Italy and has quickly
risen to prominence as one of the best in his position on the continent, and
it’s no secret that Manolas has all the makings of succeeding in the Premier
League.Dominant in the air, it’s no wonder to see the Greece international won
more aerial duels (125) than any other player in Serie A last season.
With a number of Premier League sides
adopting a direct approach, this facet of Manolas’ game would benefit any
English team. He’s still far from the finished article of course, having
committed four errors that led to shots on goal for Roma in Serie A last
season, one of the poorer returns, but there is still ample time for the
defender to hone his skills.
