Chelsea have been on a poor run of kind in current weeks, securing simply six factors from a attainable 21 factors throughout their final seven video games. This run has included losses to the likes of Ipswich City, Fulham and Manchester Metropolis, in addition to attracts towards Everton, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
This unhealthy run of outcomes has coincided with the lack of two key central defenders in December, with Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile each taking place injured.
Levi Colwill had been partnered by Fofana for a lot of the season main into the festive break, which noticed the Blues sitting second within the Premier League.
However Enzo Maresca’s aspect have struggled after shedding Fofana and Badiashile, who gave the impression to be the subsequent in line to companion Colwill.
This might have the Blues administrators on pink alert, as this massive drop in kind has derailed their season, and a defensive resolution will probably be excessive on their listing, whether or not that comes this month or in the summertime.
Chelsea taking a look at Premier League defender
In accordance with reviews from Fabrizio Romano, Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen is known to have a launch clause in his contract, which can grow to be legitimate from the summer time of 2025.
It is additional revealed that Chelsea are stated to “actually respect” Huijsen, and he’s excessive on their listing of potential targets on the again.
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Bayern Munich have additionally requested to be told on the 19-year-old, who might face loads of competitors for the Spanish central defender come the summer time, after his glorious begin to life within the Premier League with Bournemouth.
Huijsen has made 19 appearances since becoming a member of the Cherries this summer time, scoring two objectives, contributing to 5 clear sheets and totalling 1,330 minutes performed.
How Huijsen compares to Fofana
Fofana has made 12 appearances to date this season for the Blues, earlier than taking place together with his newest hamstring damage, contributing to 3 clear sheets and totalling 1,017 minutes performed.
The Frenchman was usually tasked with being aggressive on the opposition staff’s greatest participant, seeking to win duels and make issues uncomfortable for them, figuring out if he was crushed, he had the restoration tempo to nonetheless catch his man.
Dean Huijsen vs Wesley Fofana comparability | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats (per 90 minutes) | Huijsen | Fofana |
Passes Tried | 54.7 | 60.8 |
Passes Accomplished | 46.5 | 54.9 |
Passing Accuracy % | 85.1% | 90.25% |
Ahead Passes | 22.4 | 18.5 |
Tackles | 1.7 | 1.2 |
Interceptions | 2.2 | 1.1 |
Blocks | 1.5 | 0.8 |
Aerial Duels Received | 2.7 | 2.1 |
Floor Duels Received | 4.7 | 5.2 |
Stats taken from Squawka | ||
When evaluating the 2 defenders’ metrics from this season, you possibly can see Huijsen is already outperforming Fofana from a defensive actions standpoint, which is a big constructive if you bear in mind the Frenchman’s function of marking the opposition’s greatest attacker.
The passing metrics favour Fofana, however you possibly can assume a lot of that is because of play type, as Huijsen is usually tasked to go extra direct, as seen from his ahead passing numbers.
Huijsen was labelled as “one of the crucial gifted teenage CBs in Europe” by scout Jacek Kulig and additional described as a “monster within the air” by Sky Sports activities’ Joe Tomlinson, displaying maturity far past his years this season for Bournemouth.
Moreover, the 6 foot 5 central defender has the body to contest in a wide range of duels, while additionally having the composure and footballing IQ past his years to learn the sport and arrive in the suitable place on the proper time.
The 19-year-old already has all of the foundations of a superb centre-back and given time to develop, and bulk his higher physique barely to help him in 1v1 duels towards bodily strikers, he’s certain to enhance even additional, which might make him the proper companion for Colwill going forwards, a partnership that would develop collectively and complement one another in a possession-based system.
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