When Chelsea recorded a clean sheet against Hull City last weekend, with Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 system used in favour of the typical 4-2-3-1, it was just the Blues second of the season. With 1.33 goals conceded per game, despite facing up against the likes of League 1 side Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup, goal shy West Ham at home, and a struggling Swansea City, there is clearly work for the Italian to do at his new club.
The implementation of his new system looks set to be the first step towards righting the wrongs that saw a number of defensive errors from David Luiz and Gary Cahill in the absence of captain John Terry, who is expected to return from his ankle injury after the international break.
However, that will need new players. The Blues currently have just four first team central defenders on the books, with Kurt Zouma still recovering from a knee injury and John Terry nearing the end of his career, and will need to add to that if they are to play with three at the back on a regular basis.
Current full backs Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta do not match the wing back model that Conte requires either, and there could be some major Chelsea investment in their backline from Roman Abramovich in the coming January and summer transfer windows.
Read on over the next few pages to see who some of their top targets could be…