Chelsea Interested in Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Over the years Sokratis Papastathopoulos has made a name for himself playing in the Greece, Italy and Germany teams. His name is a mouthful, but the footballer better known as Sokratis has played exceptionally well for Borussia Dortmund in the past few seasons.
However, he understands that the window of opportunity to win trophies is closing fast as he gets older and he has hinted that he may leave the Bundesliga this summer. Well, it didn't take long for clubs to come calling.
According to Goal, Chelsea and Arsenal are looking to improve their defense this summer, and both clubs are reportedly keeping an eye on Sokratis in case they fail to sign their primary targets in the summer transfer window.
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The report claims that Blues manager Antonio Conte is interested in signing Southampton's Virgil van Dijk and Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci. Apparently, he sees the Greek centre-back as an alternative if he misses out on the two.
Sokratis' style of play is actually quite similar to David Luiz, so he's going to be an intriguing option for Chelsea as they look to add depth at the position.
"For the Blues, he would definitely be a fascinating option in a position that Conte may seek to strengthen in the upcoming window, especially if he continues to utilise a three-man defence," Matt Jones said in his report for Bleacher Report.
"Sokratis has been used in that system this season for Dortmund, and while he can be prone to losses in concentration, he's largely been excellent. Having another player who is dynamic, good on the ball and versatile would be a massive boost for the Blues as they get set to fight on the domestic and European front next season," he continued.
Sokratis made 26 league starts for Dortmund last season and he appeared in 41 total games. He's under contract until 2019.
