Has Transfer Deadline Day Brought About Judgment Day for Branislav Ivanovic?

The smile belonged to Marcos Alonso on transfer deadline day. But across from the Spaniard in his new surroundings inside the Chelsea dressing room, Branislav Ivanovic will be wearing a concerned frown.

Now that the international break is coming to a close, it's club football that is entering the fray once again. And for Ivanovic, his position at Chelsea is under serious threat. His day of judgement is on the horizon.

A left-back replacing a right-back—the notion seems at odds with itself. But then this is Chelsea. It's that sort of imbalance and disjointed reality that has come to define the club in recent years, notably on the back of a skewed transfer policy.

Cesar Azpilicueta has been the club's stand-in on the left side of defence for three seasons. Now that Alonso has arrived, that has to change. The hope for Antonio Conte is that it's third time lucky in Chelsea's pursuit of replacing Ashley Cole.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Indeed, a failure to do that has extended Ivanovic beyond his sell-by date as a right-back. The alarm bells had been ringing at times ahead of last season, but when Swansea City's Jefferson Montero tormented the Serb on the opening day of 2015/16, his fall from grace was all but confirmed.

Chelsea's problem then was that they hadn't planned for it.

There was only one option outside of Ivanovic, and Azpilicueta couldn't play the role of replacing two club legends at once. He was supposed to be a temporary solution on the left, but Chelsea have relied on him much too often with their failure to recruit properly.

Filipe Luis failed to challenge Azpilicueta, and so too has Baba Rahman, who looks to be an expensive mistake in that position. Though he's a threat going forward, his erratic nature at the back was hardly what Chelsea's struggling defence needed last season.

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Marcos Alonso pictured in Blue! #CFC pic.twitter.com/mFvPbDBYM6

— Chelsea News App (@CFCNewsApp) August 31, 2016"

So while Ivanovic struggled, Chelsea could do little. With Alonso, now they can.

The ex-Fiorentina man may not have the profile that breeds immediate confidence in his ability to be Chelsea's solution moving forward, yet his attributes certainly do. To understand that, we need only reflect on Rahman's sentiments when he departed on loan to Schalke earlier this summer.

"Conte told me that he wants his team to be very defensive, but I am a rather offensive full-back," Rahman told German newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten (h/t Sky Sports). "So I would have had very little playing time. Conte advised me to leave on loan. We will see what happens after this season."

Conte's plans with Alonso are clear. He's brought him to Chelsea to add the solidity the Blues need on the left. Rahman's game wasn't about that, and despite leaving it so late in the window, Alonso could well be that man.

What that means for Ivanovic is him reverting to type.

If Chelsea are to succeed long-term, they can't do it with Ivanovic on the right side of defence for much longer, assuming Conte sticks with his four-man back line. He has to move inside, where his ageing legs aren't as much of a problem.

We saw it last season when John Terry was injured in February and March. With no other centre-backs available, Ivanovic moved back inside, which is where he started his Chelsea career.

With that came the performances of old, where he looked a commanding presence.

Boris Streubel/Getty Images

On the flanks, Ivanovic is exposed too much. The battles out wide are as much about pace as they are skill, and Ivanovic has lost that vital component to his game. He struggles to compete against the nippy wingers who are becoming more prevalent again in the English game, and that has meant all sorts of problems for Chelsea's rearguard.

He's looked more comfortable under Conte in Chelsea's opening league matches, but the real test will come when the Blues face teams who deploy wide men who will attack Ivanovic's weaknesses.

Thus far, West Ham United, Watford and Burnley haven't had the personnel to do that. Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and this weekend's opponents, Swansea, do.

Conte has worked hard to develop Chelsea in his first few months so that those issues from last season do not haunt them. Before we see the best from his team, his focus has been to eradicate the problems that ruined their campaign.

Signing N'Golo Kante was the first step, and now Alonso seems to be the next.

If the Spaniard plays regularly, it means Azpilicueta's attributes on the right are going to be more suited to Chelsea's needs. Not only is that right-left balance restored, Azpilicueta has the physicality to snuff out the threat of wingers but equally the stamina and pace to play the higher line Conte craves.

As much as the wild goal celebrations we've seen from the manager, his presence on the touchline—demanding his defenders move up the pitch in unison—has been a common sight. His philosophy doesn't allow for space that can be exploited, and with Ivanovic in the side, it leaves it open.

If he's to remain key to Chelsea's plans, the Serb needs to show he can be an asset once more, but that isn't going to happen on the right.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.