Much can be learned by looking at which players see the most minutes. Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante are part of the new Chelsea spine.
There was a long period at Chelsea where, virtually every match, the same core group of players would roll out. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Petr Cech, Michael Essien and Branislav Ivanovic were all but guaranteed starters week in and week.
They were the spine of Chelsea at various points in time. Many often point towards the current group and question who is the new spine. Who is all but guaranteed to start every match and maintain the same level of performance?
CIES Football Observatory has helped to answer that question. Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante are very much the current spine. But also notable in the report is who used to be at Chelsea as the spine.
Azpilicueta is the true standout. Not only does he top Chelsea out for minutes, but he tops out outfielders throughout the big five leagues. Used everywhere from leftback, to centerback, to rightback under four managers, Azpilicueta has been a mainstay.
Kante’s minutes are split over his three clubs and his meteoric rise. Kante only stared to appear on anyone’s radar at Caen, but truly became global at Leicester City. And to prove it was not a one season blip, he has continued to show that he is Chelsea’s most valuable player each season.
But it is not just who Chelsea has on the list that is notable; it is who Chelsea had. Thibaut Courtois makes sense as he is one of the world’s best keepers despite his very shameful absconding to Real Madrid. Nemanja Matic’s inclusion is far more telling.
Matic seemed to be out of the Blues’ plans in the summer of 2017. There are rumors he wanted to leave to work with Jose Mourinho again, but also rumors that Antonio Conte desperately wanted him to stay. Had Matic stayed, he would have continued to be a part of Chelsea’s spine alongside Kante. To lose anyone in the spine can be hurtful to the team as a whole. Even more so when there are so few to start with.
And that is another angle to consider. The Blues once had half a starting XI or more of core players. Now it is just Kante and Azpilicueta. That is not the same as those two being the only leaders but the lack of consistency can hurt a team over time.
Terry, Lampard, Drogba and company knew each other inside and out. Even if they were not the best players in the game (even though they were), the knowledge of one another could pull Chelsea out of tight spots. The Blues simply do not have that same luxury now.
Coming down the pipeline to add to the current spine is Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho and Antonio Rudiger. Arrizabalaga is obvious as a trusted keeper of a big European team. Alonso has got the minutes trending the right way, but it is hard to tell how long that can be sustained. For Jorginho, it will likely depend on how long Maurizio Sarri’s tenure at Chelsea is. And Rudiger seems the true candidate to enter the new core at Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho more or less created the first spine at Chelsea and had a large role in the second. The players that deserve to take part will rise to the top, but the right manager for a long enough time will help to establish a core as well.
From the core can come leaders, and from leaders the right mentality to pull points out of nowhere. Chelsea is starting to build something new around the ironmen Azpilicueta and Kante. That should be maintained, and added to, for as long as possible.