Chelsea were in desperate need of signing new central defenders in the summer transfer window after both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left on free transfers. Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah were left as the only senior natural options at the club ahead of the 2022/23 season, but they were soon joined by Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana, with Marc Cucurella, a versatile left back, in a £165million spending spree.
For a variety of reasons the summer trio have struggled to make a significant impact at Stamford Bridge. For Fofana, injuries have plagued his first five months in west London, while a number of disappointing performances have seen Koulibaly and Cucurella face criticism.
Benoit Badiashile then joined in January to help solidify the Chelsea defence under Graham Potter. Following his inclusion in the starting XI, alongside Silva, the Blues were able to keep three consecutive clean sheets.
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Three natural options for the centre of defence does leave Chelsea one-up on players from where they were at this point last season, however contract extension issues are still prominent now. Jorginho and N'Golo Kante both saw their current deals expire at the end of the season. However, a deal was agreed in January which saw Jorginho join Arsenal for £10million while Chelsea are now very confident Kante will sign a new contract, football.london understands.
The Blues were unable to resolve the contract situations facing Rudiger and Christensen last year though after sanctions put on the club during the final months of Roman Abramovich’s tenure saw them unable to negotiate new deals for the defensive duo.
Rudiger, who was signed for £29million, therefore joined Real Madrid on a free transfer while Christensen arrived at Barcelona. In May 2022, Todd Boehly completed his takeover of the club with Chelsea then able to act in the market again, but by that point he could not impact their departures.
A report from The Athletic stated that Boehly was left bemused at how the situation played out that allowed them to leave for free. Rudiger’s absence this season is said to have particularly been felt in some quarters with his strong personality missing and it is thought he would not let standards deteriorate as badly as they have.
The Germany international was loved by Chelsea supporters, but rival fans held the complete opposite opinion and judging by what Newcastle star Callum Wilson has said about Rudiger, it was a feeling that players battling against him also shared.
When discussing the toughest players he’s ever faced, Wilson told The Footballer’s Football Podcast: “Rudiger is a good defender, always difficult to play against. He’s quick, physical and the ball is coming in to you and he’s pinching the back of you.
"So your mind switches to like ‘yo, what you doing?’ But you have to try and control the ball, so you end of thinking about the defender more than the ball and as you take a touch his legs just fly round the side of you.”
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