English Premier League club Chelsea FC had signed left back Marcos Alonso from Italian Serie A squad ACF Fiorentina in a £23 million move on Wednesday, but the team will continue to explore the loan market for an additional center back, according to recent reports.
Head coach Antonio Conte finally pulled off his third big-name signing as the summer window came down to a close, landing the 25-year-old Spanish defender on deadline day. Conte had recently expressed his desire to add defenders to his roster as the team is currently lacking depth in the backfield positions.
Alonso, who was a product of Real Madrid's youth academy and was both in the Spanish capital city as well, was acquired by Fiorentina in the summer of 2013 from the Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee.
He had just finished his third season with Viola in 2015-2016 and had appeared for the club in a total of 85 games in all competitions, scoring five times mainly as a backfield player. He managed to play 16 games in the English top flight during the 2013-2014 season when he was sent on loan to Sunderland at that time.
ESPN reported that Fiorentina confirmed the move with an official statement in their official website that said: "ACF Fiorentina announce that they have sold, on a permanent deal, the sporting rights to the footballer Marcos Alonso Mendoza to Chelsea Football Club."
"I'm very happy. It's a step up in my career and I think this is the perfect place for me to continue developing. It's time for me to win some titles," said Alonso.
"It was an easy decision for me to make when I heard the club were interested in signing me. My family and close friends know Chelsea is the club I have dreamed about playing for so I'm really excited about the challenge and I'm looking forward to working with my new teammates," he added.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph noted that the Blues are still "ready to enter the loan market" as Conte wants an additional center back because the team only has four active players at the position at the moment.
Although Alonso is said to be versatile enough to switch to central defense from his usual left back spot, Conte does not want to take any chances as he believes that they are only one injury or one suspension away from disaster if they will not be able to add another central defender.