Why Chelsea must plot a summer swoop for Atalanta’s Robin Gosens
In January, Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb (h/t The Daily Mail) had claimed that Chelsea had representatives watching Atalanta left-back Robin Gosens against Parma. In that game, he scored a goal and assisted once as Atalanta destroyed Parma 5-0.
Robin Gosens, 25, has made 90 appearances for Atalanta since joining from Dutch club Heracles Almelo in 2017. He has been one of La Dea’s most impressive performers this season, bagging 7 goals and 5 assists in 21 Serie A appearances. The 25-year-old has also made six appearances in the Champions League, scoring once.
With the German wing-back enjoying an impressive season in the Serie A, Chelsea must look to sign him this summer.
The Blues have blown cold of late after a good start to the season under Frank Lampard. Despite being inconsistent, they have managed to stay 4th in the table. The Londoners have ridden on the success of their youngsters so far and Lampard deserves enormous praise for getting the best out of academy players such as Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Mason Mount this term.
While Lampard failed to add any players in the last two transfer windows, the board have already shown their intent ahead of next season by wrapping up the signing of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax. After the acquisition of playmaker Ziyech, the Chelsea boss must prioritise strengthening his defence in the summer. In addition to a central defender, he should bring in a new left-back to the club.
Emerson Palmieri has not yet convinced the manager to claim the spot for himself, whereas Marcos Alonso is more suited to a wing-back role rather at left-back, as evident from his past performances at the club.
Due to Emerson and Alonso’s failures to cement a place in the team, Lampard has been forced to switch the position of skipper Cesar Azpilicueta from right to left. However, with Azpilicueta set to turn 31 in August, Lampard needs to find a permanent solution at left-back.
Read more
- Why Chelsea should make a move for Mauro Icardi in the summer
- Why Chelsea must drop their interest in Udinese’s Juan Musso
- Why Chelsea must make a move for FC Porto’s Alex Telles in the summer
That being said, the Blues must go for Robin Gosens. In 90 appearances for Atalanta, Gosens has netted 13 goals and supplied nine assists. This shows his ability to move forward and contribute to a team’s attack.
A left-back by trade, the German is also comfortable playing as a left-sided midfielder or as a left wing-back. He would undoubtedly be a smart addition to Chelsea’s ranks and would add depth as well.
Verdict
With Azpilicueta ageing and none of Alonso or Emerson doing enough to warrant a spot at left-back, signing Gosens would be a superb piece of business. At 25, he’s at the right age to make the jump to the Premier League and could go on to succeed in England given the quality he possesses.
