Fueled by a full-back injury crisis, Chelsea turned to VfB Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa in the winter but restrained themselves from launching an official bid. The Blues are now joined by rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in their pursuit of the Croatian right-back.
A miserable few weeks towards the latter weeks of 2021 saw Chelsea lose both their wing-backs, who, hitherto, had been key to their title challenge. Reece James was sidelined for a couple of months, but Ben Chilwell fared worse as he was ruled out for the season after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament.
To fill the position in the absence of the England international and to provide competition to the experienced Marcos Alonso, Chelsea turned to VfB Stuttgart defender Borna Sosa, reports Bild.
✅ Hiroki Ito's sumptuous finish
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) November 26, 2021
✅ Borna Sosa stunner
✅ Three #Bundesliga points
Friday night, @VfB_Int style! 🤩🍿 pic.twitter.com/5dxrPX51il
In the end, the Champions League holders stopped short of launching an official bid. Instead, they refocused their efforts into recalling Emerson Palmieri from his loan spell at Lyon, but, failing that, they brought back Brazilian Kenedy from his temporary stay at Flamengo.
Whether or not the Blues return for Sosa in the summer remains to be seen, especially with Alonso still on their books, Chilwell on his way back, Emerson’s future unclear, and Ian Maatsen impressing at his loan spell at Coventry City in the Championship. Another complication, presently, is that they are now joined by rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in their pursuit of the Croatian defender.
Arsenal and Spurs are both stacked in the left-back/left wing-back position, but as per the Bild report, are still keen on Sosa. Kieran Tierney currently holds the slot for the Gunners, with summer 2021 signing Nuno Tavares providing backup. Meanwhile, for Spurs, Sergio Reguilon is the go-to right wing-back, although manager Antonio Conte did play Ryan Sessegnon there in his previous game.
Nonetheless, should one of the three London clubs proceed with their interest in Sosa, they will be asked to cough up a significant fee by Stuttgart. Transfermarkt values the Croat at 20 million euros, and with his contract not up until 2025, there is little room for negotiations.
