Chelsea’s wingback pursuits were only ever going to end in disappointment

Thomas Tuchel, aside from some recent forays with the 4-2-2-2, has been a three at the back manager for his Chelsea tenure. The formation offers a lot of natural advantages for how he wants the team to play, but recent events have shown how quickly things can fall apart. Three at the back, no matter how it is used, is heavily reliant on good wingbacks.

Not just any wingbacks. Good wingbacks. Fullbacks are the modern equivalent of what box to box midfielders used to be. Wingbacks are that cranked up to 11. They have to be great defenders in the press and in the interception. They need to be able to cross with pinpoint accuracy while also being aware of when to get into the box for a shot. And they have to be able to go back and forth between these two poles for 90 minutes, game after game.

Wingback isn’t a role just anyone can do, that is why the drop off after Reece James’ and Ben Chilwell’s injuries have been so steep. It’s been known for sometime that Chelsea needs wingback reinforcements, but that is a much harder task than it seems when the role demands so much.

Even with the rise in three at the back systems, wingbacks are still a bit of a niche position. There just aren’t many available and the ones that are good enough to perform at a club like Chelsea are already at clubs that won’t let them go anywhere. That’s issue one. There just aren’t that many of the level required.

Issue two is Chilwell and James were locked on starters at Chelsea and post injury they will be again in all likelihood. Any signing would come to Chelsea knowing they would be a starter for just a few months at most before being deputized. If the quality demands for the position weren’t so high, that’d be an easier task but few players are going to join, be at the level required, and be okay with playing second fiddle sooner rather than later.

Those two issues have forced Chelsea to look inward at solutions, but those solutions will simply loop back to issue one. Emerson Palmieri is on the books for Chelsea but a buy clause makes his return tricky. Even still, he barely played under Tuchel just last season and when he did, it was at centerback. Kenedy has also been recalled, but a 25 year old coming out of barely playing in Brazil and who never impressed at wingback or fullback won’t be the solution either. And that’s just on the left.

Many will say the club just needs a warm body to rest Marcos Alonso or Cesar Azpilicueta, but few will seriously ask for a signing without the benching of either in the back of their mind. But even that is unrealistic given Chelsea’s current options. Emerson won’t magically be able to bench Alonso after failing to do so barely a year ago.

The only other option is to use Christian Pulisic or Callum Hudson-Odoi at wingback, something Tuchel seems to have cooled on in recent games. It doesn’t help that every attacker is misfiring, those two included. A solution needs to be found in a situation that there really isn’t one.

Fans want signings and believe anything less would be a disappointment. The truth of the matter is the wingback search was always going to end in disappointment. There simply isn’t a player out there that will do more than offer Alonso or Azpilicueta a temporary rest and the Blues already have players capable of that.  The stark reality is the club is sure to bring in or bring back a player that doesn’t really help anything or they’ll just have to wait for Chilwell and James to return and make do in the meantime.