Chelsea to make a move for Inter fullback?
The right-back will be turning 31 near the end of July but you would think he has a few years left in him and Chelsea definitely need a new player for that position as you cannot rely on one man (Branislav Ivanovic) alone all season, whilst the likes of Paulo Ferreira isn’t good enough to challenge the starting right-back and will likely be offloaded to make room for squad places. Then there’s the likes of Todd Kane, who needs to go out and play first team football in a similar way to Ryan Bertrand before he finally earned his way into the first team reckoning.
Unless you’re a regular follower of Serie A, you’re most lasting memory of Maicon would be his performance against Tottenham a few seasons ago when he was taken apart by Planet of the Apes star Gareth Bale, which has led many to doubt his credentials and it would seem as though most fans would prefer a younger player, like Eden Hazard’s former team-mate Mathieu Debuchy, who was already attracting the attention of a few clubs before the Euros.
I haven’t seen enough of Maicon in recent seasons to accurately rate him or write him off, but he is experienced and was considered one of the best right-backs in the world whilst Jose Mourinho was in charge. Of course, he looked completely useless during Rafa Benitez’s tenure when Inter played Spurs, but all their players looked terrible under the Spaniard.
For me, I’m not against the signing if the price is right and he pulls his weight. But, like most of you, I would prefer it if we signed a younger option.
There’s currently a dearth of right-backs that are good on both sides of the ball as Ashley Cole is on the left, but who would you like us to sign to challenge Ivanovic for his place?