Chelsea has understood the evolution of fullbacks better than most

Chelsea, especially their academy, is always trying to think of the type of player the game will need in a few years as well as currently. Especially on the academy side, a player needs to be developed with an idea of how the game will be in a decade rather than what the game currently is.

This is made more complicated by positions changing so much over time. Target men and wingers, once a fixture of every team in the world, are now novelties or seen as less skilled players. The development of a “false nine”, or a striker that drops deep, is really only about a decade and change old.

Fullbacks have evolved more than any other position. Chelsea’s understood that change better than most with their development and acquisition of players. All of Chelsea’s current wingbacks show case this evolution, as well as some other players towards the next evolution after that.

Once upon a time, the player that had to be good at everything was the box to box midfielder. They had to be comfortable with attacking runs, dribbling, and passing but also with pressing, intercepting, and tackling. They had to be able to get up and down the pitch in support of all phases of play and just one skill set lacking compared to others hurt the overall package.

The increasing use of over and under lapping fullbacks has shifted that however. Now, it is the fullbacks that need to be well rounded and capable of all things. And extension of that which goes to even greater extremes is the wingback. That’s where Chelsea is shining.

Marcos Alonso and Ben Chilwell are both fantastic players in this sense. Yes, Alonso lacks some speed and Chilwell doesn’t make as many aggressive movements as Alonso, but both are some of the world’s best in the role thanks to their versatility. Both can bomb forward on the over or under lap and act like wingers. Both can drop deep and perform like fullbacks of old. Both are even comfortable coming into the midfield and acting as midfielders if needed.

Reece James is perhaps the best example however. There is good reason why Wigan used him in midfield so much. The Chelsea academy focuses heavily on creating well rounded players capable of playing multiple positions or hybrid roles. This allows them to find a spot almost everywhere they go but in James’ case, it makes him into the perfect modern wingback.

His goals against Newcastle didn’t come from nowhere. His defensive contributions and playmaking don’t come from nowhere. They come from years of development within the academy with an eye towards what the game needs.

Finally, Cesar Azpilicueta is a sign of another evolution taking place. Though he can play wingback, most would likely say he does best as a centerback in a back three. But, as three at the back becomes more popular, those side centerback roles are becoming increasingly like the fullbacks before overlapping and underlapping were expected. In fact, they still do some of those runs as a new position is being developed.

Trevoh Chalobah is the next generation of this idea. He’s played as a midfielder and a right back before and this side centerback role is asking very similar things. Just as the winger role has combined with the fullback role over time, now centerbacks are taking up responsibilities of old school fullbacks as the game continues to evolve.

Chelsea is helping to lead the way with these ideas and Tuchel is more than willing to try them out. Wingbacks are the driving force of Chelsea’s tactics and that’s been years in the making.