Chelsea targeting January swoop for Attila Szalai – Know more about the Fenerbahce defender

The
Blues
could
be
without
as
many
as
four
centre-backs
next
summer
including
Antonio
Rudiger,
Andreas
Christensen.
Furthermore,
they
are
yet
to
replace
Fikayo
Tomori,
Marc
Guehi
and
Kurt
Zouma
who
left
the
club
in
the
summer.

Therefore,
manager
Thomas
Tuchel
is
now
seemingly
wasting
no
time
in
trying
to
bolster
his
backline
and
a
deal
for
Szalai
could
be
completed
in
January.
The
reported
fee
for
his
signature
is
believed
to
be
£20m.

The
Blues
were
in
the
market
for
a
defender
last
summer
and
tried
to
get
a
deal
done
for
Sevilla
centre-back
Jules
Kounde.
However,
the
dealings
could
not
be
completed
due
to
the
difference
in
transfer
fees.
As
per
rumours,
they
are
still
chasing
him
while
Matthijs
de
Ligt
is
another
one
attracting
interest,
but
23-year-old
Szalai
reportedly
looks
as
though
he
could
be
the
next
through
the
door.

Szalai’s
rapid
rise

Szalai
started
his
career
with
Hungarian
top-flight
side
Mezokovesd
Zsory
FC,
making
just
over
50
competitive
appearances
for
the
club
before
making
the
switch
to
Cypriot
side
Apollon
Limassol.
After
impressing
over
there
he
switched
to
Fenerbahce
earlier
this
year
in
the
January
transfer
window.
He
has
only
made
40
competitive
appearances
for
the
club,
but
during
his
short
stint,
he
has
been
one
of
the
best
performers
in
Turkey.
He
also
is
a
regular
on
the
national
side
and
got
recognition
for
his
all-round
display
against
Portugal,
France
and
Germany
at
the
European
Championships.

Playing
Style

After
starting
his
career
as
a
left-back,
Szalai
has
established
himself
as
an
out-and-out
centre-half
now.
At
Fenerbahce,
he
plays
as
a
left
centre-back
in
a
3-4-3
set-up,
the
role
Rudiger
operates
in.
He
is
good
with
the
ball
at
his
feet
and
comfortable
carrying
it
to
the
midfield.
Standing
at
6”3,
Szalai
is
also
strong
aerially
and
has
a
powerful
physical
presence.
His
strong
physical
element
combined
with
a
calm
decisiveness
and
presence
on
the
ball
surely
makes
him
an
ideal
candidate
for
Thomas
Tuchel’s
backline.