Chelsea hope to repeat Antonio Rudiger transfer trick as Blues scout £27m Serie A gem

Chelsea are likely to be in the market this summer for a new defender with the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and the likely exit of Andreas Christensen to Barcelona.

Multiple names have been linked from across Europe as Chelsea scramble to find an immediate replacement for the talismanic Rudiger, who has arguably been the club's player of the season.

One fresh name that has come to the fore is Torino's Gleison Bremer, the 25-year-old Brazilian defender currently plying his trade in Serie A with the 10th placed side.

Chelsea eye Rudiger replacement with defensive refresh required under new owner

As my colleague Adam Newson reported on Thursday, understands Bremer has been watched by Chelsea this season – and as an aggressive centre-back who has played on the left of a back three this term, he would likely be a replacement for Rudiger should an approach come to fruition.

Replacing Rudiger is going to be an uphill task. You are not only looking for a defender capable of the speed, physicality and precise tacking qualities Rudiger possesses, but trickier are those intangibles in his character.

An overview of Bremer on FBRef probably best demonstrates how numbers can skew a picture slightly. The Torino man excels over Rudiger in pressures, tackles, interceptions, blocks, clearances, and aerials won, which one would consider pretty obvious defensive attributes.

But Rudiger excels in passing, attempting and completing more than Bremer, whilst also completing more progressive passes. Rudiger's 4.68 per 90 compared to Bremer's 1.77. Though the context of Chelsea being a more dominant team in their league compared to Torino is relevant.

Via WyScout, Chelsea's average possession stats are higher than Torino, 60.62 vs