Chelsea closing in on Premier League defender, a good deal?

Bengaluru, Aug 17: If reports in England are to be believed, Premier League giants Chelsea are closing on a £40million swoop for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk. The Brighton & Hove Albion skipper has been linked with a move to Chelsea for quite some time now and it seems that the Blues are ready to match the Seagulls' demands for their star defender.

Brighton have been pretty decent defensively over the three years they have been in the Premier League and Dunk has been at the heart of their success. Now aged 28, the Englishman has done enough to warrant a move to a bigger club and is also at the right place in his career to look for a bigger adventure.

Chelsea can provide him exactly that and the fact that Dunk is a boyhood Blues fan, makes this deal look like a no-brainer. Here, we will take a look at the player and try to analyze whether he would be a good addition to Chelsea or not.

A complete centre-back

When we talk about the most complete central defenders in the Premier League, names like Virgil van Dijk, Aymeric Laporte and Harry Maguire come into our minds. Lewis Dunk is probably a bit underrated due to the fact that he plays for Brighton, a team that has been ever-present in the relegation battle.

Dunk is one of the biggest reasons why the Seagulls have staved off relegation fears for three years in a row and he has shown that he deserves to be playing for a bigger club than Brighton. The Englishman has all the ingredients to be Chelsea's answer to Virgil van Dijk. He is tall, strong and incredibly assured on the ball and his passing is exemplary especially considering that he plays for a lower mid table side.

Defensive and passing numbers

Dunk's passing accuracy has been 87% this season which is phenomenal for a player playing for a team who finished 15th on the table. He has attempted 62.5 passes on an average per game and that shows that he likes to play out of the back, exactly what Frank Lampard is seemingly looking for.

The 28-year-old has even managed 0.4 key passes per game as well as 4.6 long balls while even averaging 0.9 shots per game. The Englishman is also excellent defensively which is evident from his average of 1.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game while 3.4 clearances per game indicate that he can be no-nonsense when needed. Thanks to his big frame of 6 ft 4 in, Dunk is also solid in the air and that is pretty evident when we look at his average of 2.8 aerial duels won per game.

Do Chelsea need him?

It is pretty obvious that Chelsea desperately need defensive reinforcements. The fact that they conceded the most number of goals in the top half and even more than two teams in the bottom half, speaks volumes about Chelsea's backline.

Incredibly, Brighton, who finished 15th this season, have allowed the same number of goals as Chelsea this season i.e. 54 which is a pretty defensive record for a struggling side like them. Dunk's signing might not excite too many Chelsea fans due to the fact that he has spent his whole career at Brighton but he looks like a safe option even though the price might seem on the higher side. Premier League has proven, defensively solid and excellent on the ball, Dunk could prove to be a success story at Stamford Bridge.