With rumours circulating about Anthony Gordon and Wilfried Zaha being linked with Chelsea, a look is taken at the two players for who would make sense for the Blues.Yesterday, Simon Phillips reported that Zaha "would love a move to Chelsea", with the Eagles valuing the Ivory Coast international at 25million, while reports have emerged that the Blues are said to have had a second bid turned down
for Anthony Gordon in the region of 45million. But who would be the right signing for Chelsea?These are two very different players playing for very different teams and were either of them to move to Stamford Bridge, they would certainly be upgrading on the surroundings that they currently find themselves in.Many have known Wilfried Zaha to be a tricky, pacey winger during his time at Crystal Palace, but the i sue with the 29-year old has always been . This is something that football fans have always considered to be his biggest weakne s.His Premier League goalscoring record In the past couple of seasons has been impre sive - 14 in 2021/22 and 11 in 20/21 - but in 19/20 he largely struggled, scoring just four as Palace finished 14th.Zaha Playing Stats (via FbRef)However, Zaha's stats in the past year for what are considered the crucial stats for a forward player e.
g. non-penalty goals, a sists and shots, are not really to the standard that is required for a Chelsea side that need a prolific forward.Non-penalty goals per/90 - 0.32 (24th percentile)A sists per/90 - 0.03 (4th percentile)Shots per/90 - 2.08 (51st percentile)In terms of build-up play on the other hand, Zaha excels, which highlights his positivity when he is on the ball, where Chelsea are in need of such personnel.Progre sive pa ses per/90 - 3.69 (62nd percentile)Progre sive carries per/90 - 7.64 (81st percentile)Dribbles completed per/90 - 2.34 (83rd percentile)What Zaha is good at, he is very good at, but it is that consistency up front that needs to be improved if he is to get his move to Stamford Bridge, while also keeping his focus on helping Palace improve on their highest league finish since 2014/15 (10th).Anthony Gordon is a very interesting player to review. The Merseyside-born winger made his Everton senior debut in 2017 at the ageof 16 in a Europa League game. He made his Premier League debut in January 2020, so has been in and around the first team for a long time now.His loan to Preston North-End In February of 2021 saw him make 11 appearances for the Championship side but his spell there was largely underwhelming, not registering a single goal or a sist.He returned to Goodison
Park the following season where he began his breakthrough into the first team, impre sing as he proved his worth out wide for the Toffees.Scroll to ContinueThis season however, Frank Lampard has been forced to deploy the youngster at striker following the departure of Richarlison to Spurs and the .The 21-year old has rather suffered leading the line for the Toffees so far due to not really having the profile of a striker who can be a focal point for Lampard. Despite this, his workrate is unrivalled, constantly putting defences under pre sure when his side don't have the ball.Gordon Playing Stats (via FbRef)His defensive stats are some of the best around but his offensive stats that are relevant for a winger are below par, which begs the question of why Tuchel in particular is targeting Gordon.DefensivePre sures per/90 - 23.28 (96th percentile)Tackles per/90 - 2.41 (96th percentile)Blocks per/90 -
2.23 (99th percentile)Interceptions per/90 - 1.35 (82nd percentile)OffensiveNon-penalty goals per/90 - 0.15 (28th percentile)A sists per/90 - 0.07 (12th percentile)Shots per/90 - 1.75 (32nd percentile)Progre sive pa ses per/90 - 2.08 (18th percentile)Progre sive carries per/90 - 5.26 (30th percentile)Dribbles completed per/90 - 1.72 (60th percentile)You could excuse Gordon's poor offensive stats to due the Everton side he is playing for, but Chelsea could definitely benefit from having
a player that has a level of work rate that the 21-year old has.Author VerdictI'm not particularly keen on either of these players signing for Chelsea, but if I had to choose one, I would choose Zaha. His experience in the league would be a bonus, he'll come at a lower fee, and his positivity going forward with the ball is something our wide department is crying out for, so to add him to Raheem Sterling on the flanks could put some serious fear into opposition defenders.Read More Chelsea News
26 Ноября 2024, 17:49:03
