{"id":1236682,"date":"2021-12-07T11:02:29","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T11:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1236682"},"modified":"2021-12-07T11:02:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T11:02:29","slug":"marco-rossi-hungary-attila-szalai-chelsea-done-deal-transfer","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/marco-rossi-hungary-attila-szalai-chelsea-done-deal-transfer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hungary manager Marco Rossi claims Attila Szalai to Chelsea is a \u201cdone deal\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hungary manager Marco Rossi has publicly declared Fenerbahce centre-back Attila Szalai is joining Chelsea in the January transfer window.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 23-year-old only moved to Istanbul last January from\u00a0Apollon Limassol but a big move to the Premier League could be on just 12 months later.<\/p>\n

Chelsea’s pursuit of a new centre-back has been well-documented after a summer move for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde collapsed.<\/p>\n

The European champions saw centre-back duo Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori leave permanently in the summer to West Ham and AC Milan respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger will all see their contracts\u00a0expire at the end of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given Thomas Tuchel’s preference for a back-three, a potential move for Szalai, who plays in a similar system at Fenerbahce, therefore makes sense.<\/p>\n

And Hungary coach Rossi has now suggested a deal involving the 6ft 4in defender to Stamford Bridge is all but over the line.<\/p>\n

Rossi told\u00a0<\/span>Calciomercato<\/em><\/a>: “It\u2019s hard to name just one player, but right now I see very well Attila Szalai, who plays for Fenerbahce, but I think he is joining Chelsea.<\/p>\n

“Clearly, he has been followed by important clubs in Spain, but apparently his move to Chelsea is a done deal. He would be a great player also for Italian football.”<\/p>\n

There is certainly a reason why Tuchel would be keeping tabs on the Budapest-born defender, not least because of his adaptability and competence in a back-three.<\/p>\n

This season in the Turkish Super Lig, Szalai currently ranks fourth among centre-backs for final third passes attempted (134) and fifth for long passes (118).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But, beyond his ball-playing credentials, Szalai also ranks fifth for possessions won in the middle third (33), highlighting his penchant for advancing up the turf.<\/p>\n

In Tuchel’s system, fluidity is the buzzword, with players expected to circulate the ball quickly and push up the pitch to stifle the opposition.<\/p>\n

Szalai, despite his towering frame, appears to fit the archetype and could offer a marriage of physicality and ball-playing competence under the German coach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hungary manager Marco Rossi has publicly declared Fenerbahce centre-back Attila Szalai is joining Chelsea in the January transfer window. The 23-year-old only moved to Istanbul last January from\u00a0Apollon Limassol but a big move to the Premier League could be on just 12 months later. Chelsea’s pursuit of a new centre-back has been well-documented after a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":1236683,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Chelsea news: Hungary manager Marco Rossi all but confirms Thomas Tuchel\u2019s first January signing","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Hungary manager Marco Rossi has publicly declared Fenerbahce centre-back Attila Szalai is joining Chelsea in the January transfer window.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"news-category":[],"class_list":["post-1236682","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"\nChelsea news: Hungary manager Marco Rossi all but confirms Thomas Tuchel\u2019s first January signing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hungary manager Marco Rossi has publicly declared Fenerbahce centre-back Attila Szalai is 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