Frank Lampard warned against Ben Chilwell deal by former Chelsea ace, but Lewis Dunk move backed
Tony Cascarino has backed Chelsea's move to sign 'brilliant' Lewis Dunk - but has reservations about Ben Chilwell.
The Blues are working hard to make defensive additions this summer, having already made two big attacking signings in the transfer window.
Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner have both arrived at Stamford Bridge, while Bayer Leverkusen superstar Kai Havertz could also come in.
Now, manager Lampard has started to focus on fixing his side's defensive issues, after they conceded 54 goals in the Premier League in 2019/20.
It's been reported Chelsea are slowly getting closer to agreeing a deal to land £80million-rated Leicester left-back Chilwell, while fresh reports suggest Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk could head to west London for £40m.
Chilwell's possible arrival, though, hasn't quite captured Cascarino's imagination as he has concerns about the England star's defensive ability.
He told the Weekend Sports Breakfast: "Chilwell is a very good player, a very good footballer but I don't think he's the greatest defender, as a left-back, which sort of ticks a few boxes that Chelsea are already suffering with, with [Marcos] Alonso at left-back. He's probably quite guilty of being far better going one way than the other. Also Emerson.
"It's a lot of money. I watched him against Watford [a 1-1 draw in June] and Ismaila Sarr absolutely ran him ragged. I was quite surprised how easily he got the better of Chilwell on the day.
"He's a good footballer and he's very good creatively going forward. I just think it's a huge price for someone.
"I think Chelsea need, in both positions, really good full-backs who can do the defensive work duties really well.
"Reece James is a great right-back. You can play him in a five and push him on when you want an attacking minded game but Chelsea leak too many goals and their full-backs are very pivotal to the way they play.
"There are a lot of times in games that their full-backs are being exposed and exploited and they're paying the price."
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Cascarino, though, would welcome Chelsea doing a deal for Brighton's consistent central defender Dunk.
"He's not just a brute that wins headers. He's a fine footballer," he remarked about the 28-year-old.
"If you said to me, of the bottom half of the table who I think is the very best centre-half, I think it's him.
"His consistency over a number of seasons has been brilliant. His partnership with [Shane] Duffy was exceptional.
"He's moved from a two to a three and he's done really well in the three as well.
"[Brighton] are a side who have changed their backline so he's capable of playing not only in a back-four but a back-five, so I think Dunk is well capable and I think h will have that move and because of his level of performance I think he's owed a chance to play for a top-six club because he's good enough."