Chelsea one of at least three Premier League teams ‘in touch’ with Wigan over Antonee Robinson — report

On the list of most obvious places where Chelsea might need to dip into the transfer market to improve the squad, left back sits fairly high up — or at least should.

It’s not at the top because Lampard kept going on about attacking help in January and there’s a mob with pitchforks outside of Kepa’s proverbial house, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last few years, it’s that full backs and wing-backs are of utmost importance in the modern game. Get you a couple who can get it done at both ends of the pitch, and you’re sitting golden.

Chelsea seem to be good on the right, where Reece James looks to be the real deal — now and for the foreseeable future.

It’s a differently story altogether on the left, where César Azpilicueta has been deputizing more often than not — he’s started four of his last five starts in the Premier League have come as a left back — while Emerson and Marcos Alonso fight over the scraps after failing to make their chances count earlier this season.

Accordingly, Chelsea are said to be very much interested in Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell, who’s probably the most eligible left back transfer candidate in the Premier League right now. But putting all our eggs into one basket is risky business, and alternative choices must be identified as well (preferably ahead of a transfer deadline day panic-stricken scramble).

Enter the American. Or is he English? Who knows? Who cares!

Born in Milton Keynes but representing the United States, 22-year-old Wigan Athletic left back Antonee Robinson was about to join AC Milan in January for £10m, but they left it too late and could not finalize everything in time. So Robinson’s back at Wigan, but probably only for the rest of this season.

According to the grains-of-salt-inducing Mirror, “at least” three Premier League teams have already been “in touch” with the Latics for the former Everton prospect, including Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United.

That’s distinctly mid-table (or worse) competition for the young man’s signature, which doesn’t exactly sound enticing, nor does the fact that Robinson’s Wigan are floundering once again in the Championship and are currently four points adrift of safety.

Then again, Reece James spent last season in similar circumstances, and he’s doing just fine now. The player on the opposite flank from Reece at Wigan last season? You guessed it. Antonee Robinson. (Except for a couple months he missed with a sprained ankle.)

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