Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
With the news that Thomas Vermaelen is set to move to Roma this will mean good news for Chelsea as Kostas Manolas could now be allowed to leave the Stadio Olimpico. Manolos has been linked with a move to Chelsea over the course of the Summer but Roma manager Luciano Spalletti was not prepared to let him leave until defensive reinforcements were found.
And it looks like that search is over with the capture of Vermaelen from Barcelona. The ex-Arsenal defender has had a miserable time at the Nou Camp as injury has restricted him to just seven La Liga appearances since his move there in 2014.
He will now look to revitalise his career in Italy, while Manolas is now set to be Premier League bound if the price is right. Roma will set an asking price of £25m for the 25 year old Greek international but you would have to imagine that the price tag won’t be too much of an issue for Antonio Conte.
It’s been well reported that Antonio Conte is in the market for a new centre back and has been linked with a long list of names. With injury to Kurt Zouma seeing him miss the start of the season and doubts as to whether or not John Terry can play week in week out a new centre back has become somwhat of a priority for the former Italy manager.
Manolas has spent only two years at Roma but has looked very impressive in his time there, he may only be 25 but he reads the game of someone a lot older and he has adjusted to the defensive rigours of Italian football with relative ease.
He has also won 23 caps for his country and for £25m it would represent somewhat decent value especially if Conte is looking for someone to build his defence around for the next few years. With John Terry 36 and Gary Cahill 30 as great servants they have been for the club they can’t go on forever and at times age was starting to catch up with them this season as Chelsea’s defence of the Premier League title was a poor one.
If Manolas was to link up with Conte at Stamford Bridge then the prospect of a partnership with Kurt Zouma once back from full fitness looks a very exciting one, not only that but thanks to their young ages it’s the kind of partnership that you could see in West London for the best part of a decade. Manolas may be one for the future, but the future could very well be now.
