Reports: Chelsea considering shock move for Wolves’ Nelson Semedo
As per latest reports, Chelsea is mulling over a potential move for Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back Nelson Semedo as a back-up to Reece James.
The 28-year-old switched from Barcelona to Wolves in 2020 for £37 million. This season, however, he has only managed the full 90 minutes in the Premier League on four occasions.
Semedo is widely admired for his combative abilities off the ball and pace on it. He’s an energetic full-back, someone who could thrive at Stamford Bridge with lesser defensive responsibilities, more time on the ball and more width to offer from a wing-back position.
Semedo has yet to fully impress in English football, having overseen a dip in form, both individually and collectively as part of a Wolves unit that has looked largely uninspiring.
A move to Chelsea is not out of the cards, though, according to journalist Simon Phillips, who said “Chelsea also like Nelson Semedo from Wolves and are considering him as an option to come in to give competition for Reece James.”
The Blues have, in fact, played an ageing Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Ruben Loftus-Cheek at right wing-back in recent matches. They’ve missed James, who is set to be out until after the World Cup, having failed to win in any of their last three league matches.
Although there’s a lot to build on defensively for Semedo, he remains a viable option to boost squad depth. He has the taste for trophies from his time at Benfica and Barcelona. Although out of favour with the Wolves, Semedo is more than capable of deputizing for James in a busy fixture list for Chelsea. After all, he has a point to prove as well.
Semedo and Wolves, with just two wins in 14 contests this season, are next in action against Leeds United in the 3rd round of the EFL Cup.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Дмитрий Садовников. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.