Chelsea are looking to poach Bernardo Cueva, Brentford's set-piece specialist. The Bees have not had a great season, but have still managed to be a threat from dead-ball situations. CFC on the other hand, have not had great success in that department and constantly seem to find themselves in trouble during set-pieces. The two clubs met last weekend at the Gtech Community stadium, where they shared a point after a 2-2 draw.
During the initial reign of Frank Lampard, Chelsea brought in Anthony Barry as their set-piece specialist. He helped the team significantly as the Blues went on to win the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup honours. Barry later joined Thomas Tuchel in Germany, where he became the club's set-piece specialist.
Can Bernardo Cueva transform Chelsea's set-piece game ?
Bernardo Cueva has been a part of Brentford's coaching team since 2020. The Mexican's role at the club is tactical statistician and he is often seen screaming instructions to the players from the touchline. Although Brentford have not had a great season, they have conceced the third fewest goals from set-pieces behind only Arsenal and Manchester City.
Chelsea have often been caught in mismatches during corners and free-kicks. Bringing in a specialist like Cueva could solve the problems at Stamford Bridge. Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile are all terrific in the air, but despite their presence, Chelsea's set-piece defending has been questionable.
One of the biggest examples of Chelsea's shortcomings in the set-piece defending department is the League Cup Final loss to Liverpool. The Reds came knocking at the door in the 60th minute when Virgil Van Djik headed a goal from a corner taken by Andy Robertson. Although it was given as an offside, Liverpool eventually scored a goal in the 118th minute through a corner which was scored by Van Dijk.
CFC manager Mauricio Pochettino highlighted the clubs set-piece problems in a press conference earlier last month. He said:
"If you want to be good in set-pieces, we work a lot. But then you need good takers. When you have good takers, and of course, Wolves have good takers, and like Manchester City have, or other clubs."
With the Premier League entering the business end of the season, it is unlikely that Thomas Frank will agree to let go of Cueva at this juncture. However, the Blues will look to bring in his expertise to Stamford Bridge in the summer and further strengthen their side for the next season.