Chelsea could be handed a golden opportunity to sign one of the best central defenders in world footballplaceholder image
Chelsea could be handed a golden opportunity to sign one of the best central defenders in world football | AFP via Getty Images
Chelsea could be handed a golden opportunity to sign one of the best central defenders in world football this summer.
A lot has changed at Chelsea since Roman Abramovic's exit and the subsequent takeover over US billionaires Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and their Clearlake consortium in 2022.
The Blues have adopted an approach which specifically focuses on signing young talent on long-term contracts, leading to them either being sold on for potential profit or the club on occasion harnessing the player’s potential and turning them into the next big thing. To an extent, they’ve improved since the disastrous 12th place finish in Boehly’s first campaign as ownerat Stamford Bridge, and have shown signs of growth as a team. On the flip side they still look a long way from the finished article of title contenders or Champions League winners like they were under the previous regime despite lifting the Conference League and Conference League during last year’s summer months.
As it stands, there’s still a gulf between Chelsea and clubs such as Manchester City and Arsenal - and that comes in the form of experience. The Blues have very few players with experience of winning the top honours in club football, with the exception of Reece James, who is the last member of the team that became European champions in 2021. City, meanwhile, have a squad filled with winners in Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and so on.
Arsenal also have a manager that’s been around that winning Pep Guardiola environment in the past, and a group that’s continuously stayed together and got stronger season on season. So could Chelsea redress the balance by adding some experience to their team this summer?
Chelsea need a top-class centre back to win the big prizes
When Chelsea first became champions in 2005 and again in 2006, their success was built on the foundation of their imperious defensive record. They conceded just 15 in Jose Mourinho’s first term (a British record) and only shipped 22 a year later.
They had a formidable partnership of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho in those two seasons, which again helped win their third title in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti. Further titles followed in 2015 and 2017 - and in both of those campaigns the Blues also boasted the best defensive record of any team in the division.
Chelsea are a far cry from their 2017 level, and have been for a while due to a combination of a transfer embargo for a year, ownership changes and managerial appointments. However, it’s worth noting that they did win the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021, and a fundamental player in that team was central defender Antonio Rudiger.
Rudiger played more than 200 matches for Chelsea, won the FA Cup, won the Champions League, lifted the Europa League and was consistently amongst the best defenders on the planet during his time at Stamford Bridge, but he was allowed to leave on a free transfer to Real Madrid amid the chaos of Abramovic's exit.
Why Chelsea should make the move for Rudiger
Rudiger is 32-years-old and in the twilight years of his career, which is very much against the current Chelsea transfer philosophy due to their habit of signing younger players.
However, Rudiger remains a top-class central defender and could be a great exception to the rule to give the team a boost next season. The German has proven throughout his time at Real Madrid he’s still an excellent operator - he’s won a league title, a Champions League and the Copa del Rey in the space of three years and has racked up over 160 appearances. He has also been in the Team of the Season in La Liga in two campaigns, including as recently as last year.
If he’s to become a free agent, he’d be an invaluable asset to a team like Chelsea, who have a great deal of young central defenders that’d be able to learn from the German international. There’s Trevoh Chalobah, who has been a revelation since his return from a loan spell at Crystal Palace, Levi Colwill once he returns from his ACL problem and other names like Wesley Fofana, who when fit and firing could still become a real talent.
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