Chelsea preparing to sign ‘one of the best LWs in the world’

With the start of this year comes a new era for Chelsea Football Club.

The Blues announced Enzo Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day, and a few days later announced Liam Rosenior as his permanent replacement.

The former Strasbourg manager has a big task ahead of him, with qualification for next season’s Champions League certainly the goal.

Fortunately, the transfer window is currently open and, if reports are to be believed, Chelsea are planning to bring in some top-level players to help their new manager. This includes players who could be an upgrade over Pedro Neto.

Chelsea aim to upgrade Neto

Although he is certainly not well known among Premier League fans, there are reasons why Chelsea supporters are excited about Rosenior’s appointment.

The 41-year-old may not be the most experienced manager, but his performance in France has been impressive. He coached 63 games, resulting in 32 wins, 14 draws, and only 17 losses.

Additionally, Strasbourg proved they can work with young players by becoming the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to feature players born in the 21st century in their lineup earlier this season.

But to help the Blues move forward, the squad needs more instant stars, and it appears the club intends to provide him with that.

At least that’s according to a recent report in Spain, which claims Chelsea are interested in a “big name” in Rafael Leao.

In fact, the report reveals that the club intends to spend €150 million on AC Milan star and Barcelona player Fermin López.

The West Londoners will reportedly spend €75m of that money on the Spaniard and the rest on the Portuguese star, which translates to around £65m.

It may be a complicated deal to get over the line, but given Leon’s immense ability, it’s one Chelsea should go all out to get, especially as he would be a dream upgrade for Neto.

Comparison of Leanne and Neto

Now, Neto has played more time on the right side than he has throughout his career, but not by much.

For example, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers star has played 78 games on the right, 69 on the left and 25 in the top flight during his club career.

Furthermore, the Portuguese international will likely play on the left at Chelsea, as he did against Manchester City, as Estevao is a sensational talent and Cole Palmer is probably more effective on the right.

Unfortunately, if Bruco acquires a player, he will be competing directly with Leon for game time, a competition that he will not win for several reasons.

First of all, he’s not that reliable as a source.

For example, since the start of last season, he has played in 78 games and totaled 5,298 minutes, recording 15 goals and 12 assists.

This means that on average he is involved in a goal every 2.88 games, or every 196.22 minutes.

In contrast, the Milan star has scored 19 goals and provided 14 assists in 63 games, playing a total of 4,335 minutes.

This is much better than his average of being involved in a goal every 1.90 games, or 131.36 minutes, lending credence to analyst Ben Mattinson’s claim that he is “one of the best right-backs in the world.”

Unsurprisingly, the former LOSC Lille star looks even better when you look inside at his underlying numbers.

For example, the 26-year-old has an excellent score of 90 in all the most relevant metrics, including expected non-penalty goals and assists, shots and shots on target, carries into the penalty area, and passing accuracy.

At the end of the day, Chelsea should do everything in their power to sign Leon, although it may not be the easiest move to pull off. Because he would be a huge boost to the team and a clear upgrade over Neto.