Chelsea may still loan out Trevoh Chalobah amid West Brom interest
West Brom have been handed a boost in their bid to sign Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah this summer.
Last month, the Express & Star reported that Albion had made an offer to sign the 22-year-old, who was assessing his options at Stamford Bridge as he’s in the final year of his contract at the London club.
Chalobah has since worked his way into Thomas Tuchel’s first-team squad at Chelsea and made his senior debut for them last week in the UEFA Super Cup win over Villarreal.
He followed that up with a stunning performance on his Premier League debut on Saturday, scoring a belter in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
Gary Lineker, writing on Twitter, hailed the Blues enforcer for his “stunning” Premier League debut and “smashing” goal.
Chalobah, who can play as a centre-back or as a defensive midfielder, could still be loaned out by Tuchel though, with The Guardian reporting a temporary exit remains on the cards for the Sierra Leone-born ace this month.
That should be seen as an opportunity by West Brom, who still need to bolster their midfield options before the transfer window closes on August 31.
Chalobah’s inclusion in the last two Chelsea starting line-ups has been surprised but there’s no denying the fact that the England Under-21 international impressed against both Villarreal and Palace.
He played on the right-hand side of a back-three in each of those matches, and that could come in handy for Valerien Ismael, who’s played a 3-4-3 in his first two matches in charge of the Albion.
But if Chalobah was to join West Brom, there’s no doubt that he would be of use in the midfield.
Albion have conceded four sloppy goals in their first two Championship fixtures and you would imagine with some extra defensive steel in the midfield, Chalobah would help see matches out or even serve as an upgrade on Jake Livermore.
Our lack of depth is worrying, especially as Ismael wants his players to play at 100mph every match where injuries and suspensions are a risk – as well as potential COVID cases as the season goes on.
Other than Livermore and Alex Mowatt, who does Ismael have among his central midfield options who are good enough for a team gunning for promotion to the Premier League?
No one, is the answer.
And if Chalobah does become available for a loan move away from Chelsea, Ismael and West Brom need to force themselves to the front of the queue to get a deal done.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has reacted to the news that Albion want to sign this attacker to replace Matheus Pereira.
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