Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in 2022, they’ve had a clear transfer strategy of buying the best young talent from around the world.
Well, during this time, more than 35 first-team players have arrived and over £1bn has been spent, but they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
So, as the Blues brace themselves for another summer in which they continue to splash the cash, should they focus on giving the youngsters they’ve already signed a chance, one in particular who has been labelled the best midfielder in Ligue 1?
Dário Essugo: Chelsea's latest recruit
Just days after a move for Sporting’s Goevany Quenda was reported, Chelsea have now agreed to sign Sporting CP midfielder Dário Essugo for £18.5m, set to make the move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Nizaar Kinsella of BBC Sport adds that the 20-year-old has agreed a seven-year contract, and the plan is for him to be Moisés Caicedo’s ‘deputy ball-winning defensive midfielder’ and he could debut as soon as June at the FIFA Club World, at which the Blues will take on Flamengo, Club León and Espérance Sportive de Tunis in the group stages.
Essugo is currently out on loan at Las Palmas, making 17 appearances in La Liga this season for los Amarillos, with his side second-bottom of the division, despite scoring twice in injury time to salvage a draw against Alavés on Friday night, a match the Portugal U21 international sat out suspended, having been sent off at Real Betis a few days earlier.
Mohamed Fathalli of Breaking the Lines labels Essugo an ‘impressive talent’, particularly excited about his ‘off-ball movement’, while Feargal Brennan of Football España notes that the youngster has managed to ‘impress’, despite playing for a struggling side.
So, Essugo is clearly a talented midfielder, but do Chelsea already have a brighter midfield talent on their books?
Chalkboard
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Chelsea talent is already better than Essugo
Given the sheer number of players they have signed, it’s easy to forget and overlook many of Chelsea’s recruits, and Andrey Santos certainly fits into this category, arriving from Vasco da Gama for a reported fee of £18m two years ago.
The 20-year-old is still yet to feature for Chelsea’s first team, spending five months on loan at Nottingham Forest upon his arrival in England, albeit he made just two appearances for them, starting an EFL Cup defeat to Burnley, before seeing seven minutes at Anfield.
However, he’s since found a home in Strasbourg, also owned by Chelsea’s ownership group BlueCo, making 37 appearances for les Bleu et Blanc since his Ligue 1 debut in February last year, taking his game to a new level this season.
With Strasbourg flying-high, chasing European qualification, manager Liam Rosenior recently claimed “Andrey is the best midfielder in the league”, with talent scout Jacek Kulig describing him as a “one-man war machine”.
So, let’s assess how he compares to Essugo.
Appearances
26
19
Minutes
2,304
1,342
Goals
9
1
Assists
3
0
Pass completion %
88%
85.8%
Progressive passes
114
62
Shot-creating actions
42
26
% of dribblers tackled
57.8%
62.2%
Interceptions
20
28
Ball recoveries
146
78
% of aerial duels won
60.5%
45.5%
Errors leading to an opponent’s shot
1
7
As the table outlines, Santos comes out on top for pretty much every metric, tackling and interceptions the two exceptions, while noting he has played almost 1,000 more minutes this season.
Nevertheless, of the duo, the Brazilian is clearly more ready to make an impact in Chelsea’s first team next season so, who knows, Essugo could follow a similar path by spending next year out on loan at Stade de la Meinau; actually, thinking about it, that’s by far the most likely outcome isn’t it?
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