Chelsea FC: Players Fighting For Their Future
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello
The 3rd South American on my list, he also has the unenviable position of being the club’s most recent signing in a title winning season in which he offered next to nothing. Lauded for his work rate, dribbling ability, versatility (right wing-back, right midfield, right, central and left attacking midfield) before he joined the club in the January transfer window, he had a stellar 2014 at Fiorentina, making himself extremely valuable to the club, thus prompting Jose Mourinho to endorse his 23 million pound transfer to Chelsea, with Mohamed Salah going the other way on loan.
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His impressive performances for Colombia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he registered the joint highest number of assists, also helped to boost his profile in world football, prompting clubs like Manchester City, United and Bayern Munich to show interest in signing him.
While replacing a player who endeared himself to the Chelsea fans with his humility and knack for scoring crucial goals against the top sides (hey there, Schurrle… still miss you!) was always going to be a daunting task, the fact that he was signed to better an already impressive squad made it even more difficult. And he has so far been unable to deal with the pressure of expectations, especially considering the fact that his signing coincided with a period that witnessed a drop in performances by the team.
He has struggled with the pace of the Premier League and his much lauded dribbling skills have totally deserted him. Seeing him get easily shrugged of the ball brings to mind the image of an errant child being scolded by his parents, and on several occasions his attempts to dribble past players have seen him stumble over the ball in hilarious fashion. The fact that he has accumulated more bookings than goals or assists hasn’t helped matters in his favour.
When you also put in the fact that the player who replaced him at Fiorentina, Mohamed Salah, has impressed so much that the fans have created a special chant for him, you can’t help but feel sorry for the 26-year old Colombian. His performances have been so abysmal that Jose Mourinho has been forced to defend him in a bid to lessen the pressure on him, claiming that he never expected him to integrate fully with the team and the Premier League this season and that he expects Cuadrado to be at his best next season after having a full pre-season with the team. But with his inclusion in Colombia’s squad for the 2015 Copa America confirmed, he may not even have the pre-season needed to integrate with the team.
With media speculation surrounding Chelsea’s interest in Antoine Griezmann, Mourinho would be hard-pressed to defend Cuadrado if he fails to step up his performances before the January transfer window comes in 2016.
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