Chelsea have reportedly entered the race for Villarreal’s Pau Torres

A recent report in the English media has linked Chelsea with Villarreal’s Pau Torres.

Chelsea’s defensive woes

For the most part, Frank Lampard’s first campaign in the Chelsea dugout has been a success.

Despite losing their standout star, Eden Hazard, over the summer and not signing anyone for two transfer windows, the Blues have still managed to compete for a Champions League place.

They are also still going strong in the FA Cup with Lampard notching victories over both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola in his first season as a top-flight manager.

However, one of the capital giant’s main issues this term has been their backline.

Lampard has struggled to nail down a regular centre-back pairing this campaign with all of Fikayo Tomori, Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen featuring regularly.

Chelsea’s left-back problems, namely Marcos Alonso’s inability to defend, have also persisted this season.

This coupled with an ever-changing, inexperienced, centre-half pairing has led to Chelsea possessing the worst defensive record of the current top-eight PL sides.

The Blues’ defensive frailties were laid bare for all to see last week as the capital outfit lost out to a relegation-threatened West Ham side.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea reacts during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on July 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Lampard on set pieces

One of Chelsea’s main issues against the Hammers, and throughout the season, has been their inability to defend set plays.

Lampard himself has recently spoken out about said problem, hinting it could be an area the club look to address via the transfer market in the near future:

“We’ve looked at set pieces this season,” Chelsea’s manager said. “When we came into the club we looked at the stats from last season. Last season we were bottom of the league defending set plays, in terms of teams getting big chances against us, and second bottom in attacking. We haven’t improved much this year.

“I really don’t like to talk about my own playing days but we didn’t work much at all on set pieces and there were a few reasons, mainly John Terry, Gary Cahill, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and [Branislav] Ivanovic. You’d stick it in an area and they would defend it or score goals.

“With Liverpool, I remember a lot of talk about them and set pieces a few seasons ago. They were zonal and conceding a lot. They signed Virgil van Dijk and he heads out everything. There’s a huge relation to personnel and if you don’t have that size, the main thing is trying to compete as hard as you can and making it difficult for other teams to score.

“But I’m not making excuses because we haven’t done that well enough and that has to improve. When you look at who you might bring in with the balance of the squad it is certainly something to take into account.”

Quotes via The Guardian.

Chelsea eyeing Torres

The English tactician’s comments come around the same time the Blues find themselves linked with a central defender.

According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are among a number of European clubs keeping tabs on Villarreal’s Pau Torres.

The 23-year-old, who is said to have a release clause of around £45m, has previously been linked with Manchester City.

But given Torres is taller than the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christensen, he could well be a useful asset for Lampard and co. as they look to fix their defensive frailties.

Torres has notched 31 appearances across all competitions this term for Villarreal and his staring displays also saw him handed his senior Spain debut back in November.

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