Chelsea turn to underused Tottenham defender in desperate times

Although they forked out more than £20m for a new left-back on transfer Deadline Day, Chelsea appear intent on doubling their tally at the earliest opportunity.

Tottenham defender Ben Davies is the man catching their eye and has reportedly been on the Blues’ radar since the summer, when the Welshman impressed in a three-man defence for his country at Euro 2016.

The propensity to play on the left of a back three, rather than in his natural position, is clearly what appeals to Antonio Conte, who has been an avid user of three-man defensive systems in his time with both Juventus and Italy.

Although he hasn’t dedicated too much time to the formation since arriving at Stamford Bridge, the Italian did switch to that tactic in the second-half against Arsenal last time out.

Adding Davies to a defensive unit that has shipped nine goals in the last four games and only have one clean sheet this season could be the first in a number of moves Conte makes to revamp his squad.

Doing so would prove tough though, as Tottenham would be unwilling to sell the player to a fellow top-four rival, despite Davies performing understudy duties to first-choice left-back Danny Rose.

Marcos Alonso arrived at Chelsea from Fiorentina as part of the Deadline Day double swoop that also saw David Luiz return to the Bridge. However, the Spanaird’s second-half appearance against the Gunners is his only league outing so far.

With Conte far from pleased over his team’s performance at the Emirates, the former Bolton defender could be in line for his first top-flight start next time out against Hull, where his new club are 10/21 to secure victory.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing