Could Sunderland midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini’s “dream” move to Chelsea come true?

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With Antonio Conte building his own side at Stamford Bridge, rumours have been flying of various Italian additions to Chelsea, the latest of which is Sunderland’s Emanuele Giaccherini. Available for as little as £2 million, according to talkSPORT, the midfielder would provide a cheap alternative to some of the much more expensive options which are usually linked with a move to the capital to join John Terry and co.

Usually deployed on the wing, as he has been at Bologna this season, Giaccherini is capable of playing on both the left and the right, but has also previously played centrally, as he did at times for Sunderland during his rather unsuccessful spell at the Stadium of Light.

Signed for £6.5 million by Paolo Di Canio, the Italian played under 4 different managers for the Black Cats, and suffered as a result. An impressive, if unremarkable, first season in 2013/14 saw him score 5 goals in 34 games, but he was largely frozen out in 2014/15 and played just 10 games for his club, before being forced out on loan.

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This season has seen him bring his career back to life, despite hitting 31 years of age. His exciting performances for Bologna saw him score seven goals in 28 games, and he has continued that fine form into Euro 2016 where he notched in Italy’s tie against Belgium before producing some fine performances before crashing out to Germany in the quarter finals.

Despite these good performanes, there will still be question marks over whether or not these rumours are to be believed. Three Serie A clubs, including his loan club Bologna, Torino and Fiorentina, are believed to be interested according to Sky Sports, but the players agent, Furio Valcareggi, has made it clear that a move to join Antonio Conte would be a dream come true for Giaccherini. Regardless of Giaccherini’s dreams, there remains no concrete evidence that Conte would want to help him fulfill that ambition.

With a questionable record in the Premier League, such a move may make little sense for the 2014/15 Champions. He struggled to make a notable impact at a side who spent much of the past few seasons fighting relegation, and could not even break into the team in the past two seasons, leaving it seemingly unlikely that he would slot into a team chasing the title very easily.

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Despite this, there would be some attractions for Conte. Given that Giaccherini has fit perfectly into the Italian managers system at the Euros, he would provide some much needed experience to a Chelsea side whose players have yet to play in such a style. With many of Chelsea’s wingers suiting a more attacking set-up, Giaccherini could provide more depth and a greater defensive attitude than the likes of Willian in games against high quality opposition.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Federico Civerchia.