In the Premier League era, some of the league's greatest defenders have graced Chelsea with their monstrous performances, elegance in possession and leadership expertise.
John Terry, for example, was all of those rolled into one and he captained the Blues through their most successful period, making a whopping 717 appearances across a glittering 19-year period that saw him lift a whole host of trophies, including five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and a Champions League.
Through his unstoppable displays at Stamford Bridge, it became apparent that the key ingredient to any team is having a defensive stalwart anchoring the ship to success.
The latest generational defender to exemplify the above at Chelsea is Thiago Silva, the Brazilian who makes the art of defending look easy through his exceptional ability to read the game – with his "football brain" seemingly "above everybody", according to former boss Graham Potter.
Unfortunately, at 39 years old, the pleasure of watching him in action is coming to an end and Mauricio Pochettino must prepare for the day he eventually hangs up his boots by having a replacement lined up.
That replacement could come in the shape of Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni.
Chelsea's January transfer targets
According to CalcioMercatoWeb, Chelsea and Manchester City are considering a move for the highly-rated centre-back.
The report details that the 24-year-old is valued at €70m (£60m), however, Inter aren't under pressure to sell after the Italian penned a new four-year deal in the summer.
Bastoni was previously the subject of interest from Tottenham Hotspur when Antonio Conte was manager but he rejected the opportunity to link up with the fellow Italian as he didn't want to leave the Serie A giants.
Since arriving at the San Siro in 2019, the 6 foot 3 colossus has become one of the best left-sided defenders on the planet and it is clear if Chelsea were able to successfully strike a deal with Inter, Bastoni would become a revelation in the Premier League.
Alessandro Bastoni is the dream heir to Thiago Silva
Inter Milan's stalwart, who was dubbed by Italian journalist Marco Sconcerti as a "young [Leonardo] Bonucci", is leading the next generation of Italians into battle and displays an abundance of attributes that suggest he's going to have a long and successful career at the top of world football.
Similarly to Silva, Bastoni is the complete modern defender and doesn't possess many chinks in his armoury, demonstrating his exceptional ability to drive from defence with the ball and elegantly dictating play with his passing range.
In possession, the £170k per-week monster is near faultless and this is evidenced by how he ranks against his positional peers across Europe's top five leagues for his ball retention and ball-carrying attributes.
According to FBref, Bastoni places within the top 1% for progressive passes received, top 2% for progressive carries, top 11% for progressive passes and top 1% for shot-creating actions per 90.
For those metrics alone, it isn't a shock to see many of Europe's top clubs salivating over the prospect of watching the Italian dictating possession from deep and kick-starting attacks with his wonderful passing range.
Although his defensive metrics don't rank particularly high as the Inter back line isn't put under constant pressure, Bastoni is incredibly good at reading the game, like Silva, while he's also an imposing presence, winning 65.5% of his aerial duels and placing within the top 3% for tackles won in the attacking third.
Bastoni is on the brink of becoming a world-class defender and he should be top on the list of players to replace the Brazilian stalwart.
