Could Lewis Dunk be the solution to Chelsea’s defensive woes?

Chelsea has been linked to Lewis Dunk in the media lately, would the Brighton centerback solve the Blues’ defensive issues?

There aren’t enough trustworthy sources reporting Chelsea’s interest in Brighton & Hove Albion’s captain, Lewis Dunk, but now that his name has come up, could he actually be a solution that was under our noses this whole time?

Up until the 2017/18 Premier League season, Dunk was in the Championship, England’s second division, for Brighton & Hove Albion. He was appointed captain in the same season and has remained captain ever since. Dunk, along with his centerback partner Shane Duffy, has been at the heart of Brighton’s defense for years. They have ensured Brighton’s defensive stability, as the Seagulls defenders have been solid as they can be given they’re a mid-table or relegation-battling side. They have done their part to keep Brighton in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons, the coming 2020/21 season would make it the fourth league season in a row that they are yet to be relegated since getting promoted—this is large in part due to Dunk.

Dunk seems to fit the profile of centerback that Chelsea could use. He is every bit as tenacious as someone like Gary Cahill and has a decent passing range, completing 164 long balls last season. He is a leader, and as someone who has been captain at Brighton, he would be a very good communicator. Dunk has full command of his box. The arrival of Dunk may even go a long way in solving Chelsea’s set-piece issues, as well. His awareness and his aerial prowess are exemplary, per the eye test.

At 6-foot-4 (192 cm), he’d be Chelsea’s tallest centerback. However, if you compare his numbers to that of Chelsea’s current center halves, he comes up short. This is even more worrying because in the kind of team that Dunk plays in, they get attacked more and as such, their defensive players have more actions to make per game, giving them an opportunity to rack up a great volume of stats.

Dunk averaged 1,1 tackles per game last season. Comparing this to Chelsea’s current centerbacks: you have Andreas Christensen at 1.8, Antonio Rudiger at 1.4, and Kurt Zouma at 0.8 (this is only including centerbacks that played at least 20 league games). This particular statistic doesn’t say so much, because if you make more interceptions, you’d generally need to make less tackles. Dunk registered 1.5 interceptions per game, in comparison the Blues: Zouma (2.1), Christensen (1.4) and Rudiger (0.8). In clearances per game, Dunk comes in second with 3.4. His Chelsea counterparts booted away 4.0 (Zouma), 2.8 (Rudiger) and 2.7 (Christensen). In dribbles past per game, Dunk is tied in second with Zouma (0.5) with Christensen and Rudiger also tying at 0.3.

Of course, there are many metrics that are used in measuring the effectiveness of centerbacks and defenders generally, but these metrics are just the surface—Dunk already comes short. Comparing the distribution of the four centerbacks mentioned above, Dunk has an 87 percent pass completion rate. When put aside Chelsea’s options, Christensen completed 91 percent, Zouma 88 percent and Rudiger 87 percent. For accurate long balls per game Dunk comes in second with 4.6, the Blues defenders all registered more bar Christensen (2.5)—Rudiger clocked 5.7 and Zouma finished slightly off the lead (5.0).

Another important statistic that is probably worth taking a look at is percentage of aerial duels won. Chelsea has had a problematic season when it comes to defensive set-pieces. Chelsea players are often targets in the air, and this doesn’t seem to apply to only the shorter players either. Dunk won 66 percent of his aerials duels last season, Chelsea’s centerbacks by comparison won 74 percent (Zouma), 59 percent (Rudiger) and 58 percent (Christensen).

The purpose of this article is not to show how bad or lacking any of the centerbacks are, but to compare what the Blues already have to what they could potentially be bringing in. The Chelsea defense allowed the third least amount of shots in the Premier League last season, so clearly the defense is doing something right. If anyone is going to be added to the unit—especially for the purpose of improving it—it should be someone that is a clear upgrade on the current centerbacks.

Dunk doesn’t come out as the best in any of the basic defensive metrics used, and even the ones he came in second, the difference wasn’t glaring. This is not to say that Dunk cannot walk into Stamford Bridge and transform the Blues into title contenders, but as it stands, Dunk is barely fixing Brighton’s defense. It would be asking for trouble expecting him to improve Chelsea’s, let alone take it to the next level. So, looking at all the facts, can Dunk be the solution to Chelsea’s defensive woes? You tell me, but the numbers don’t suggest so.

What do you think of the Dunk to Chelsea rumors? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!