Chelsea made a mistake not signing Sergino Dest or Denzel Dumfries during the summer, claims journalist Simon Phillips.
According to Phillips, former manager Thomas Tuchel wanted to bring a new right wing-back to Stamford Bridge and the west London club looked at the AC Milan and Inter Milan stars. However, in the end, they decided to stick with their current options.
GiveMeSport Transfer Verdict
Who are the right wing-backs in Chelsea's squad?
This season, Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all played on the right side of Chelsea's defence.
On paper, then, they have a few options for that position. However, James is currently out injured and is not expected to return to action until after the World Cup, while Loftus-Cheek is a midfielder by trade.
When you consider the above, Chelsea could probably do with Dest, who joined Milan on loan from Barcelona over the summer, or Dumfries right now.
Tuchel's successor Graham Potter, though, is going to have to make do with Azpilicueta and Loftus-Cheek for now.
What has Phillips said about Chelsea failing to sign a right wing-back?
Phillips thinks Chelsea made a mistake not bringing in cover for James.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: "Big mistake really. Thomas Tuchel was asking for a new right-back for two summers and didn't get one.
"We came quite close to signing Achraf Hakimi two summers ago, and last summer we looked at Sergino Dest and Denzel Dumfries, amongst others. But the club and Tuchel convinced Azpilicueta to stay and I've been vocal in saying this was a mistake, with respect to our club captain."
Should Chelsea have signed Dest or Dumfries?
It would have made a lot of sense. While they were able to keep hold of Azpilicueta amid interest from Barcelona, the Spaniard is now 33 years of age and was not at his best last season as he started to let a few mistakes creep into his game.
"Look at the penalty. It is an unbelievable goal from our ball possession," Tuchel said in the previous campaign (via GOAL) after Azpilicueta gave away a spot-kick in a defeat to Arsenal. "There's no tactics behind that. We have three ball losses in 10 seconds.
"Then we do a foul where there's not even the slightest danger. We foul a person. It is a penalty."
Ultimately, with Azpilicueta on the decline and Loftus-Cheek not being a natural right wing-back, Chelsea not signing Dest or Dumfries, who are valued at around £95m combined by the CIES Football Observatory, could be something they end up regretting after James' injury.
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