According to Fussball Transfers (h/t Daily Express), Chelsea have expressed an interest in Bayern Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng.
The 31-year-old German has enjoyed a career resurgence under new boss Hansi Flick this season, making 27 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga side. A regular feature in the Bayern line-up, Boateng has struggled for game time in recent seasons after the emergence of Niklas Sule as the side’s first-choice centre-back.
However, an injury to Sule had opened the doors this season for veteran Boateng, who has so far featured in a whopping 313 matches for the Bavarian giants.
With seven Bundesliga titles, a Champions League, and a World Cup to his name, there is no denying that Boateng is one of the most proven defenders in the last few years. Having performed consistently at the highest level for both club and country, it’s no big surprise Chelsea are interested in the big German.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are in need of a consistent defensive partner for their main man Antonio Rudiger. The Blues also have centre-backs Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, and Fikayo Tomori in their ranks but the former two have been slightly error-prone and inconsistent at times.
However, academy graduate Tomori has impressed Lampard featuring 15 times in the league and managing four clean sheets till now. With the side already having enough back-up in their side roping in a player like Boateng at the moment seems totally unnecessarily.
Moreover, Boateng seems to be nearing the end of his career, which is evident from the decreasing number of matches he has played in the past few seasons.
With the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James breaking into the first-team line-up, and establishing themselves, Lampard has already proved that he is ready to believe in his side’s youngsters.
All these youngsters have gone on to become the top players for the Blues this term that has seen them climb to an impressive fourth place in the table. Similarly, manager Lampard must maybe keep a little faith in Tomori and offer him more chances than signing an old guard like Boateng.
Hence, they should end their pursuits of Boateng as he would just become surplus to their requirements with the side already well-stocked at the back.
With Chelsea already having as many as four centre-backs in their side, roping in another defender like Boateng seems pointless. Also, he will turn 32 this September and is clearly not a signing for the future. They should rather invest their money somewhere else and strengthen areas that need real improvement.
