da bet sport： Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Chelsea may look to replace Gary Cahill, despite his huge role in the Blues’ successful Premier League title bid.
da bet7： Indeed, Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Watford yesterday evening was the first game Cahill has missed this season and the England international has worn the captain’s armband in John Terry’s prolonged absence.
But Carragher believes Chelsea may want to bring in a natural left-footer for the left centre-back role in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 setup, which will give them better balance in possession – claiming other teams allow him more time on the ball because he can’t make the same impact with his right foot.
As quoted by Sky Sports, he said…
“I still think there could be a centre-back that goes into that back three. I think in Cahill’s position, even though he’s the captain and has had a great season. We spoke maybe 12 months ago about 3-5-2, talking about having specialists. The one position where you feel, as a centre-back, a little bit awkward is a right-footed player playing on the left of a back three.
“You always get pushed onto your left foot. It’s different to playing left-back because there you can actually go as wide as you can to the touchline because you are always coming inside on your right foot.
“When you are a centre-back you are more tucked in, maybe 10 yards off the touchline. You have seen teams at times, and they haven’t really exposed it, but they always let the ball go to Cahill on that side because it’s on his weak foot.”
Although the suggestion likely came as a surprise to many Chelsea fans considering Cahill’s influence this season, not only captaining the side but also helping them achieve the third-best defensive record in the division and scoring six goals, plenty of Blues supporters on Twitter have welcomed the idea.
Here’s a look at how they reacted…