Chelsea FC’s Most Disappointing Players Part 3: Juan Cuadrado
Welcome to the third and final instalment in our series profiling and discussing the most disappointing players for Chelsea FC in the past season. Despite all the success that the Blues enjoyed, there are nevertheless players who didn’t quite contribute as much as the others so the staff here at The Pride Of London have decided to name and shame them.
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While Part 1 focused on the unassuming Ramires, and Part 2 took aim at Filipe Luis, today we shift the spotlight onto a player who only joined in February: Juan Cuadrado.
The players were chosen on the basis of popular vote, and Cuadrado’s name did indeed fuel the most heated of debates amongst our writers.
The Colombian winger joined the newly crowned Premier League champions right at the close of the winter transfer window earlier this year. He was given a four and half year deal while Fiorentina were given a reported £23 million in addition to an on-loan Mohamed Salah.
Speaking to chelseafc.com upon arriving, he said: ‘I am very happy and thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given. This is a great club and honestly it is like a dream to join the Chelsea family and to know that the manager believes in me.’
Before adding, ‘I’m happy.’
I think he was happy.
Well, unfortunately, things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the 27 year old in Chelsea blue as he was limited to just four league starts over the remainder of the campaign. He did, to be fair, appear a further eight times but most of these were not much more than 20 minute cameos.
He failed to score any goals and, despite being tied for the most assists in last year’s World Cup, could not successfully set-up his teammates either. He came with a reputation from Italy, but has so far failed to really justify it so let’s stop delaying and see what the writers had to say.
Conor: ‘It has to be Cuadrado. You’d think for a player that we brought in to replace Andre Schurrle he’d at least do something to live up to his price tag, but he just looked awful, or even just average in every appearance except for the last game.
‘And now with reports that we’re ready to sell Cuadrado, it just shows that he isn’t meant to be at the club.’
Ouch.
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Joshua, meanwhile, was a bit less harsh.
Joshua: ‘I would say Cuadrado as well. It’s tough because I agree he was bought for the future, but he just wasn’t good when he got playing time. While Filipe Luis didn’t get too much playing time to prove himself, Cuadrado wasn’t performing well when he did get some.’
Some of the writers, on the other hand, were forgiving…
Brendan: ‘I’m willing to give Cuadrado a bit of a pass for this season. It is very difficult to make a mid-season transfer, especially going from Serie A to the Premier League.’
Mike: ‘Very much agree on giving Cuadrado the pass. He gets until January before I give an opinion.’
Ayushman: ‘Cuadrado was already bought as a next season player so it will be wrong to name him the worst player. I think Cuadrado will be as good as Schurrle if he plays a good amount of games next season. But I’m still doubtful how he will contribute defensively.’
Comments which sparked a debate about his defensive qualities…
Mike: ‘That’s funny, defensively is one of the areas Cuadrado has looked ‘best’ to me. Seems willing to track back and stick a leg in. His final touches going forward are where I’ve been surprised.’
Johann: ‘The guy has played in CM and as a fullback, he’s got defensive chops. I never thought he’d impress, though. Even in Italy, a weak league, his stats were not very impressive.’
Andrew, however, was having none of it.
Andrew: ‘I would swap Cuadrado for Schurrle if we could do over…’
he’s already 27 years old, an age where players should be less ‘promising’ and more in their prime
Cuadrado was put in a difficult position, to be fair. The winger arrived mid-way through a season in which Chelsea were already dominating and had a pretty established match-day squad week in, week out. To make the transition from Italy, the country where he had played for the last six years, to England and be expected to immediately make an impact is a tough ask for anyone.
The fact that his price tag was so sizeable didn’t help either. In a world of Financial Fair Play where no transfer funds can be wasted, a footballer who is brought in for that kind of money needs to hit the ground running to appease supporters and journalists alike. Fans were also relatively unhappy with the departure of Andre Schurrle, which essentially paved the way for his arrival, and thus there was an added chip on the Colombian’s shoulder.
Cuadrado has always been described using words such as ‘exciting’ and ‘promising’, but he’s already 27 years old, an age where players should be less ‘promising’ and more in their prime. It says a lot that there are already many transfer rumours linking him with an exit from Stamford Bridge not even six months after his arrival.
Should Cuadrado still be in West London come September, he’ll have a lot of work to do in order to restore the reputation he carried over in February.
We’ve had our say, so now it’s over to you. Is it unfair to criticise Cuadrado after only a few months at the club? Or should a player with such a price tag be expected to make an almost immediate impact? Sound off in the comments below!
Next: Chelsea FC: Downsides of Signing Falcao