Despite their underwhelming start to the season, Chelsea have steamrolled the opposition since Antonio Conte switched to a 3-4-3 after their London rivals routed them 3-0 in September. The Blues are 6 points clear at the top, having won 12 straight Premier League matches. Still, there seems to be something missing. The perfect man to take out the aging and error-prone Gary Cahill out of the starting lineup is on loan at Dieter Hecking’s Borussia Mönchengladbach. Andreas Christensen will give that LCB spot in Conte’s team a much-needed boost in possession, someone who can progress the build-up quicker, making it harder for the opposition to press the back three. Chelsea’s best product by far can, Christensen enjoyed a great debut season to professional football last season, voted Gladbach’s best player, while also winning the plaudits of many across Germany. Standing 6’2″, the Dane has bulked up lately and added some aggression to his game, which will be needed for Conte’s perfectionist setup. He’s quick, extremely gifted with the ball, and capable of benching both Cahill and Kurt Zouma for that left-sided center back position. Still, he reminds me of John Stones, in a good and bad way. For all his talent and ability in possession, he seems too soft, with poor anticipation and ball-watching at times. That being said, Antonio Conte has seemed to drill out Cahill and David Luiz, and there’s no doubt in my mind he can turn the 20-year-old Dane into a world-class central defender at Stamford Bridge.
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