This year has been a good summer for Chelsea so far.
Enzo Maresca’s side destroyed Paris Saint-Germain in the first final of the improved Club World Cup, then beat Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milano with relatively easy.
The Blues were also busy off the pitch, bringing in many of the best talents, strengthening their teams and challenging the place in the starting lineup.
However, it appears that it’s just under three weeks before the windows close, and the people of West London were linked to people who compared Rodrigo, making the most of their time.
Chelsea targets his own Rodrigo
They are every year, so Chelsea have been very active in the market so far this summer, and their new arrivals are already looking spectacular.
For example, Joao Pedro scored three goals in three games at the Club World Cup, while Liam Delap scored six games in the US, creating assists.
Add the exciting Yarell Hoot and Jamie Gittens. It’s safe to say that Maresca’s team looks much better than last year.
But while many teams call it a day, the conference league champions still want to raise talent for their teams, and are now approaching the player once compared to Rodrigo.
At least that’s according to a recent report from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who reaffirmed Chelsea’s interest in Alejandro Garnacho.
In exciting news, Italian journalists revealed that Bruce has reached full agreement on personal terms with players and is proceeding with a talk from club to club.
However, there is still disagreement on prices as pensioners want to pay around £30 million and Manchester United wants to pay nearly £50 million.
It may be a complicated and expensive move to get past the line, but given Garnacho’s capabilities and possibilities, it’s worth pursuing, especially as he’s been compared to Rodrigo in the past.
How Garnacho compares to Rodrygo
In this example, the comparison between Garnacho and Rodrigo comes from FBREF, analysing players in similar positions in the 23/24 Champions League season, concluded that the Real Madrid star is the ninth-like offensive midfielder or winger to the United Ace.
While that may sound incredible to some, looking at some of the metrics the pair ranks closely will give you a better understanding of how they reached this conclusion.
These include goals and target shots per shot, goal-making actions, touches in the opposition penalty area, and more, the final third, and all about 90.
Patage Motem & Sextory | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics per 90 | Garnacho | Rodrigo |
Receiving progressive path | 7.27 | 7.32 |
Goals per shot | 0.13 | 0.13 |
Goals for each target shot | 0.33 | 0.26 |
Goal Creation Action | 0.60 | 0.53 |
I’ll bring it to the last third | 2.42 | 2.50 |
Touch in the OPP penalty area | 6.06 | 5.54 |
23/24 All statistics via FBREF for UCL Campaign | ||
These numbers help to draw pictures of people who are not as dangerous as real stars yet, but he clearly has the knack for putting the ball into dangerous areas, like the Brazilian.
Apart from the statistics, another characteristic that the Madrid-born dynamo shares with two-time Champions League winners is the versatility of his positioning.
Since breaking through at Old Trafford, the future “superstar” played in several positions, just as journalist Liam Canning once dubbed him, from attacking midfield to both wings, and even Maresca’s side much easier.
Finally, comparisons with world-class players are certainly encouraging, but his output from last year can also be used, so it’s not a discussion of why Bruce is trying to sign young Argentina.
For example, despite playing for the historically terrifying United side, which is only 20 years old throughout the campaign, he still managed to score 11 goals and provide 10 assists in 58 appearances, but this is not a bad return in the situation.
Ultimately, Chelsea will have to go out and get Garnacho as long as the prices are reasonable.
