Brighton's English defender Lewis Dunk looks on during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England, on June 23, 2020. (Photo by ANDREW BOYERS / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ANDREW BOYERS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Football.london, Chelsea were linked with a move for Lewis Dunk this summer. However, no deal could be worked out as the Blues eventually ended up signing Thiago Silva as a free agent. Brighton also had to fend off interest from other clubs as Dunk was hot property then.
Lewis Dunk rose through the youth ranks of Brighton and made his first-team debut for the Seagulls in League One back during the 2009-10 season. The academy graduate has since been a bonafide witness to the club’s journey through the divisions in English football.
He played a bit-part role as a youngster when Brighton secured promotion to the Championship in 2011 before featuring prominently in the Seagulls’ promotion-winning campaign in the second-tier in 2016-17.
Dunk has since established himself as a quality centre-back in the Premier League over the past three seasons, making 115 top-flight appearances for his boyhood club. The defender has made just one appearance for the England senior team, which came in 2018.
Not so long ago this season, Chelsea were one of the defensively fragile teams in the league as Frank Lampard struggled to find the ideal defensive line. Finally as Thiago Silva was thrown into the mix and Kurt Zouma was trusted with retaining his spot, things started to change.
The Blues no longer looked suspect at the back as Lampard has his best defensive pairing. While all that is very good, one needs to remember that Silva just turned 36 and cannot be expected to continue for the long-term. The problem in that is none of the other central defenders are upto the mark.
Fikayo Tomori has been shelved for some reason and Antonio Rudiger has also been given a handful of games. It is imperative that they get a player who has some experience in the league. The club should look to reignite their summer interest in Dunk, in January would be epic but they can afford to wait until next season too.
As a 28-year-old central defender who has drawn plaudits in the Premier League, he represents everything Chelsea would want. Surely it would be hard to negotiate with Brighton who have held onto their best defensive assets. Nonetheless, Chelsea can clear out some deadwood and throw in a decent offer.
