As we get ever closer to the Premier League’s busy festive schedule, it also means the January transfer window will be returning. One top-flight side who usually do plenty of business in January is Chelsea and they are often linked with some of the world’s top players. This season looks like it will be no different and this time, it’s Real Madrid youngster, Marco Asensio. The Spanish midfielder has reportedly kicked up a fuss about his lack of playing time at the Santiago Bernabeu and will join the Blues if his demands of more time on the pitch aren’t met at Real Madrid.
There are very few teams on the planet that Asensio wouldn’t get into and Los Blancos have arguably the best selection of midfielders in the world, so it is much harder for the youngster to break into the team. However, Chelsea aren’t short of top midfield players either and it isn’t as simple as Asensio just slotting straight into the starting XI at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues should still do as much as they can to persuade him to sign and if they could get the deal done in January, it would help their push for back-to-back titles. Manchester City currently head the betting markets at odds as short as 1/8 to beat out the likes of Man United and Chelsea, the latter now trailing by nine points. For the full Premier League odds and complete coverage of the football games today – click here!
The 21-year-old would fit into Antonio Conte’s expansive attacking style perfectly and could be used in a second striker role alongside his international team-mate, Alvaro Morata. This is the position that Eden Hazard has found himself in on a number of occasions over the last few seasons, usually behind Diego Costa, but the Belgium star is certainly more effective on the wing.
Asensio has shown that he is already of the highest class and that he can perform on the biggest of stages despite his young age. This was typified by his 90th-minute goal against Juventus in last term’s UEFA Champions League Final as he calmly slotted past Gianluigi Buffon after Marcelo’s accurate pull-back.
He also netted two screamers against Real’s archrivals Barcelona in this season’s Supercopa de España as he played a big part in his side coming out 8-2 aggregate winners over the two legs. The former Mallorca star is starting to make name for himself when it comes to scoring very good goals and his stunner against Las Palmas earlier this season will definitely be competing for the Goal of the Season award in the Spanish top flight.
This isn’t the only good aspect of his game and with fantastic dribbling and incisive passing, he is showing signs that he will become a complete midfielder in the near future.
Chelsea are a side with a wealth of attacking midfield options but adding Marco Asensio to their squad would be a major coup. However, he certainly won’t come cheap and a fee of well over £100 million is being discussed, especially after he extended his contract to 2023 back in September of this year. It wouldn’t be a bad investment and with the Blues being one of Europe’s wealthiest clubs, it would be merely a drop in the ocean for their owner Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea should definitely take the chance, and do everything they can, if they are given the option to secure a deal to bring Marco Asensio to the Bridge – whether it’s in January or in the summer.
