Juan Cuadrado’s disastrous spell in West London may finally come to an end.
Chelsea FC winger Juan Cuadrado could move to Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, according to reports. The Colombian has failed to make an impact during his time at Stamford Bridge and is currently on loan at Serie A outfit Juventus.
Spanish football gossip site Fichajes.net carries the story, claiming that Diego Simeone has been impressed with Cuadrado’s return to form over in Italy.
"[Atletico Madrid] have been tracking the Colombian international…Cuadrado perfectly fulfills Cholo Simeone’s demands and is a relatively young football with a great hunger for title as well."
Cuadrado joined Chelsea in the 2014-15 winter transfer window, after being a thorn in the club’s side the months previous. Having bagged a few goals in European play against Chelsea, Jose Mourinho applied the if you can’t beat them, join them mantra by signing him for a fee around £20million.
Unfortunately, the winger failed to replicate his impressive form in a blue shirt and has been widely regarded as a flop. This sentiment is underlined by the fact that he was loaned out to Juventus for this season, despite only having been at Stamford Bridge since February of this year.
Part of his poor form was due to a lack of playing time. Cuadrado featured in 15 competitive fixtures for the Blues but only four of those came as starts. Having said that, he never seemed to take his opportunities when he came, consistently putting in sloppy and inadequate performances.
Many fans argued that he needed time to settle into the vastly unique style of the Premier League and that he would come good in this campaign. However, he hasn’t been granted an opportunity to prove his supporters right as he was shipped off to Juventus in August for the rest of this campaign.
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To be fair to Cuadrado, his effort or commitment was never in question but it just never seemed to fall advantageously for him. Fortunately for the player, he has returned to form in Italy, making nine appearances thus far for the reigning Serie A champions.
Juventus are likely to move for a permanent deal at some point this season should Cuadrado keep up his performance levels, but it is testament to his quality that several other clubs are also interested in securing his services.
Having said that, Cuadrado may even force Chelsea to take a second look at him next season, especially given the club’s attacking struggles at the moment.
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