With John Terry’s career at Chelsea speedily coming to an end and Gary Cahill’s erratic form so far this season, many have speculated that Antonio Conte could be willing to splash the cash on a new centre-back this winter.

Cahill looked extremely dodgy against Arsenal when the Blues lost 3-0 to their rivals in late September. The whole defence has improve greatly since that mauling but England international Cahill again had a scary performance against Man City last weekend.

His ninety minutes against Pep Guardiola’s side was strewn with errors, one of which resulted in Gary inexplicably sending the ball past his own goalkeeper just before half-time. While Chelsea recovered to take the win, Cahill looked nervous throughout.

It’s a sad state of affairs that no Premier League striker has scored more past Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois than Gary’s two own goals, since the big Belgians arrival in London.

Conte has a rich history of building good defensive units at Juventus and then with Italy (same players). So he may believe that Cahill has frightened him one too many times this term and it’s time for a change.

The change to a back three has worked wonders and Brazilian defender David Luiz looks quite solid for the Blues, which very few thought would ever happen for him at Stamford Bridge.

Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta has done a sterling job in the three man defence but he’s still a natural full-back at heart.

Kurt Zouma’s return from injury will be welcomed by coach Conte. The towering French centre-half has looked a real world beater at times but he will still need more time to be match fit and sharp after his ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament injury that he suffered in early February.

One name that might attract Chelsea’s interest could be Burnley’s Michael Keane. His name has been linked with the Blues all season.

The twenty-three year old has been extremely impressive for the Premier League newcomers this season. His performances have been rewarded by new England boss Gareth Southgate, who knew him from the under-21s, and he has called Keane up for recent senior squads.

He’s a defender that doesn’t rush into a challenge, has great concentration levels and who likes to put his head onto any ball that comes into the box. He has been an ever present so far this term and impressively he has only received one yellow card, that’s a kind of discipline this Chelsea team could learn from.

The defender is also versatile enough to fill in at right-back if cover is needed for that position.

The former Manchester United academy graduate looks right at home in England’s top flight and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a big move and taking it in his stride.

If Chelsea are interested in the six foot three stalwart then they might need to make a move in January. Man Utd have been linked with a move for their old employee, while Everton have recently been credited with an interest in the Burnley man.

Add the fact that his contract talks with the Clarets have stalled and you get the idea that he’s already thinking about his next move.

So with club captain John Terry edging closer to the exit door, injury concerns hanging over Kurt Zouma’s head and Gary Cahill’s nervy outings in the big games, I believe a £20m move for Michael Keane could make sense and it could cement Chelsea’s title challenge.

Or will Antonio Conte take a chance and wait and see if Andreas Christensen can make the grade next year?

Posted on December 7th, 2016 by scott
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