So it seems our answer to scoring more goals is to buy another CB.

 

Good ball playing CB but that’s all I know if the lad. 
 

Fofana - Badiashile 

@BordeauxBluewhere are you, we need some help (about this guy) from you now.

At last! We needed a proper replacement for Sarr!

(Never seen the guy play, hope he's good somehow.) 

I don’t even know if we’re paying fair prices for these random players or not. 

Who  ?

Am guessing a signing so we can stick with a back 3.

Good thing about signing these type of players is that there is no expectation so they could either surprise us and be an amazing signing or the can flop and add onto our list of flops.

12 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Good thing about signing these type of players is that there is no expectation so they could either surprise us and be an amazing signing or the can flop and add onto our list of flops.

I mean Sarr was a free and he was the worst CB I’ve ever seen play for Chelsea. 
 

I wish our signings gave us some sort of idea in what Potter wants. Bedialshile gives some suspicion we want to continue a back 5 (sigh) and  Nukunku, Felix, Alvarez, etc on top of Potter wanting to still have Mount and Havertz in the team, just what on earth are we trying to create here? 

From Chelsea365

 

Still, the questions have to be asked: Why have Chelsea seemingly switched their focus towards the profile of defender they want to target, and what has brought them to chasing a defender they’ve only had brief links with before? 

One thinks it might have been a suggestion from newly appointed Lawrence Stewart who joins from Monaco in February and will have a seat on the Chelsea board as technical director with a focus on Global Football, though this is just a thought and has not been reported yet by top sources.

 

A reason behind this sharp rise to the top is his character. The Athletic recently focused on the youngster’s calm self-assurance, but what has gone under the radar is his work ethic.

The thing that stands out more than anything else about Badiashile is his absolutely towering physique. At 6ft4, taller than some websites weirdly suggest, Badiashile is a giant on the pitch, and he uses this to his advantage.

When he first broke through at Monaco, it could be tempting for him to try and forcefully battle with opposing defenders in the box to head towards goal. Now though, he’s refined his attacking movement, and has become a genuine danger on corners and free kicks – three goals in his last 12 league games go to show for it. 

Defensively, his style of play is a little more reserved to Gvardiol or Colwill. Badiashile has spoken about how his family and coaches encourage him to be more aggressive but stylistically, there’s something calm about the way he applies pressure.

While Badiashile is generally a clean tackler, he still needs to work on his timing at stepping out. He commits 1.15 fouls p90, putting him in the bottom 32% of defenders in Europe for that metric, while the more aggressive Gvardiol averages just 0.93 fouls p90. 

Again, it should be noted that the defender is almost insanely young to have started over 20 games in a league season two years running and to have established himself as a starter for a regular in European competitions. 

With age comes experience, and with that comes improvements, and while it’s clearly not a gigantic departure of profile than Gvardiol, there may be a clear reason why Potter might want Badiashile over the Leipzig defender or even Colwill.

When Spiro asked the defender if he thought his height was his biggest asset, Badiashile disagreed for the second time in the interview by stating : “I’d say my strong point is the quality of my distribution, that’s my main strength, and that’s what sets me apart from certain other defenders.”

The statistics would appear to back that up, as last season the young defender averaged more progressive passes p90 than any other centre back in the Monaco squad. 

What’s grown as a part of his passing is his range of technique used. Badiashile has consistently driven long diagonal switches to Monaco wingers, lifting it over the opposition block.

Should Chelsea sanction the transfer?

Badiashile is clearly established as a solid talent, with remarkable experience and good qualities to take him far in the game. There’s also clear reasons why Graham Potter would want him in his XI.

Transferring in the defender will definitely send a message out from Todd Boehly and Potter, that they are willing to spend big to drive their youth-recruitment programme and squad makeover. 

Furthermore, it also sends the message both men are not satisfied with Kalidou Koulibaly or Marc Cucurella at LCB, nor trust Colwill to make the position his own in the short term. 

I am not usually a fan of giving a straight yes or no, I believe every player has pro’s and con’s and with a coach like Graham Potter, it is worth considering the amount of players he developed into much better players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Robert Sanchez, Leandro Trossard and more. 

What I will say is that I think Badiashile will be yet another plaster over the wound caused by Antonio Rudiger’s exit in the Chelsea defence. Whether he will be the one who heals it depends heavily on how exposed he is in the Premier League, and if his more glaring weaknesses can be transformed sooner rather than later which might just prove to be why a January move is a less than favourable option considering Chelsea need instant impact with their position in the premier league table.

 

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

Am guessing a signing so we can stick with a back 3.

Not too sure about this; tell you what I am very confused about our transfer policy. Nkunku who we have spent big money & I reckon also on £200k/w+ ideal position is a “10”. Sure he can play upfront in a front 2 but I am not sure you can play that formation in the PL. In a back 3, he will a square peg either a winger or a WB. Makes no sense to spend that amount of money and not play him in his ideal role, but we are already doing that with Sterling.

Another thing is someone raised the possibility of Koulibaly playing in the centre of a back 3, surely every time the opposition approaches our back line it will be a bomb scare. Koulibaly is not composed in possession, rash with his challenges, and some of the long diagonal passes he attempts from LCB will be kicked straight out of touch.

4 hours ago, axman2526 said:

@BordeauxBluewhere are you, we need some help (about this guy) from you now.

Erratic and crap on the ball.

Big lump good in the air and (too) physical. 

Not got enough brains for the highest level imo 

Hey, the last big bloke we got from Monaco was a big hit though ey? What's the worst that could happen? 

2 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

Hey, the last big bloke we got from Monaco was a big hit though ey? What's the worst that could happen? 

When you say he is crap on the ball, is it down to being poor under pressure? Because from his comps and summary analysis his distribution is one of his strengths. 

25 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

Erratic and crap on the ball.

Big lump good in the air and (too) physical. 

Not got enough brains for the highest level imo 

But apart from that he's good yeah?

33 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

Erratic and crap on the ball.

Big lump good in the air and (too) physical. 

Not got enough brains for the highest level imo 

Perfect thank you. Good to know our recruitment looks to be as crap with the new boardroom people as it was in the summer then.

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

When you say he is crap on the ball, is it down to being poor under pressure? Because from his comps and summary analysis his distribution is one of his strengths. 

He would never cope with the speed and high press of the prem. Imagine Mendy, but as a CB

So Sarr 2.0 🥲

2 hours ago, timetowaste said:

But apart from that he's good yeah?

He's a physical presence to be sure. 

If that's all we're after then sure, but he isn't a world-class player and never will be. 

I would much rather see Colwill given a fair crack

1 minute ago, BordeauxBlue said:

He would never cope with the speed and high press of the prem. Imagine Mendy, but as a CB

Oh this will be comedy gold. 

 

Can we get Baka back too? If we are going to be losing more often than not I would at least like some laughs.

Has to be a Stewart signing surely? Least we have a finger to point if he’s sh*t. 🙃

Got to catch them all

11 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I mean Sarr was a free and he was the worst CB I’ve ever seen play for Chelsea. 
 

I wish our signings gave us some sort of idea in what Potter wants. Bedialshile gives some suspicion we want to continue a back 5 (sigh) and  Nukunku, Felix, Alvarez, etc on top of Potter wanting to still have Mount and Havertz in the team, just what on earth are we trying to create here? 

Still want to give Biehly and Potter time but surprised no one is addressing the midfield issue unless they are waiting until the summer.

This guy has two assets most of our other defenders do not. He's young and he's fit. Although in saying that I note he's missed two games this season with an abuductor injury. At the moment the only other two defenders who qualify on those grounds are Chalobah and Cucu.

We have to have a good defence and a good midfield. The goals are the last priority. At the moment with James and fofana and Chiller perpetually injured we have a crock of old defenders. So this is an entirely defensible January move. Is he the right guy? No idea, but my guess is we are going to find out.

16 minutes ago, ozboy said:

This guy has two assets most of our other defenders do not. He's young and he's fit. 

This made me laugh, is true but still made me laugh. Cheers Oz.

 

Also deal is done in all bar medical and signed contracts, he will be our first Jan window signing for around 35mill euros.