 |
| ADRIAN DENNIS / GETTY |
So it looks like Dean Huijsen is off to Real Madrid - Chelsea are still hanging around in the reports, but I don't think we'll battle Madrid any further.
It's hard to see around a wave of Chelsea fans that claim to be experts on Huijsen - seeing potential and demanding we sign him regardless of the consequences.
Personally, I hope we don't fall into old habits and splash the cash on players we don't need, out of fear that a rival would sign them instead.
That's not always the case, like with Moises Caicedo, who was a expensive but much-needed addition, and would have made Liverpool even more dominant. We've yet to see the full picture with Mykhailo Mudryk, who had a decent start this season before his suspension.
Though, rather than throwing money at our defence - locking in a settled group of players will be beneficial in the long run. Think Arsenal, with Saliba, Gabriel and Raya, or Liverpool, with Van Djik and Alisson.
Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah seem to be our set defensive pairing, and I hope it stays that way - mainly to build familiarity between our centre backs and reduce the amount of switching and change that is taking place.
They've been scapegoated in recent games for small errors, but truthfully they are two of Cobham's most successful products, and two that seem to have survived a transition into the first team - we'll see if Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong get the same treatment.
Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile are great backup options. Wesley Fofana is stellar whenever he isn't injured, and I wouldn't be surprised if we cut our losses and look to recoup some of that £80m transfer fee.
Add in Aaron Anselmino and Mamadou Sarr who joins from Strasbourg in the summer, and that's a pretty good list of CBs.
Dean Huijsen is a player with a lot of potential, but he would cost £50m or more and could ask for big wages, so I completely understand our decision to let him go while we deal with other issues - namely locking in a group of wingers, finding a solid backup striker - and even a backup left-back.
I hope he smashes it at Madrid, who crucially need defenders more than we do, especially with the arrival of Xabi Alonso and a switch to three at the back.