Possible replacements for Andreas Christensen at Chelsea

Ethan Ampadu

Not too long ago, Ethan Ampadu looked like the player to follow in Callum Hudson-Odoi’s footsteps and break into the first team directly from the academy. However, things didn’t fall right into place for the defender and he has become a part of the infamous loan army, currently on loan at the newly promoted Serie A side Venezia.

The only reason he did not quite nail down his place in the squads under three different managers is that he did not have a particular position. He was often seen as a utility player by Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri. The now-21-year-old played as a centerback, defensive midfielder and central midfielder under their respective reigns. A similar pattern could be seen during his loan spells at RB Leipzig, Sheffield United and Venezia. However, as Christensen leaves Chelsea, Tuchel might finally have a position for the Welsh international.

While he has played more minutes in midfield for Venezia, he has filled in as a centerback when required. Ampadu has 2.39 interceptions, 2.39 blocks, and 2.73 tackles per 90 minutes. These statistics could be slightly skewed in his favor because of his minutes playing in midfield, but even then, these numbers are simply brilliant. As per a few sources, Tuchel has followed Ampadu’s progress at Venezia this season closely. When he returns to Cobham, Ampadu could pull off a Chalobah-esque move and finally break into the first team while no one is looking. Ampadu could also save Chelsea some money that the Blues could eventually invest elsewhere.

Pau Torres

The acquisition of Pau Torres would be an expensive one, but unlike de Ligt, the Blues at least have a price tag to match. Torres plays in La Liga and therefore, he has a €50 million release clause that can be triggered by Chelsea this summer. Torres is an exceptional player whose name does not come up as often as it should.

This season, Villarreal has kept 11 clean sheets in the league, conceding just 25 goals. This means Torres is a part of a defense that ranks third for both clean sheets and the fewest goals conceded in La Liga this season. He has made 1.64 interceptions and 1.29 blocks per 90 minutes in the league this season, as well. While these numbers are low when compared to those of Silva, it might be because he has to make a lot fewer defensive actions. After all, his team keeps a lot of the possession. Apart from this, he is a great ball-carrier, as well as a superb passer as of the ball. Torres has accumulated 4.29 progressive passes and 4.75 progressive carries per 90 minutes. This makes him a very similar type of a player to Silva. He is also left-footed and could partner with Rudiger in a back four to form a right and left-footed, sweeper-stopper partnership.

Furthermore, the 25-year-old is also one of the more experienced and older names on this list. He could replace Christensen directly into the starting line-up. Another very interesting statistic about Torres is he has been awarded 23 successful offside traps in La Liga. Often times, players that play as the more disciplined centerback disable the entire offside trap set-up by their teammates by taking up deeper positions, that is why such players are quite rare. After all, the player with the most successful offside traps in the Premier League is named Virgil van Dijk, and he’s quite good.