After an impressive World Cup in 2014, Juan Cuadrado has reportedly been chased by some of Europe’s elite clubs, with Barcelona heavily linked to him. Despite us already having a very strong squad, we seem to have recently proved that our depth is not as good as we have previously believed, with Bradford City highlighting that for us.
A natural right winger with pace and flair in abundance, Cuadrado would offer us something different down that side of the pitch, somewhere that we’ve been consistently lacking in the goals and assists department recently. This is in part down to the lack of productivity from Willian. Being a £30m signing, I personally would expect a greater return of goals and assists from Willian. Despite goals and assists not giving the full picture of a player’s performance, Willian seems to struggle when faced with one on one situations, often cutting back and playing a safer, less incisive pass. Cuadrado on the other hand has a much greater return of goals and assists so far the season, which is an addition we so desperately need.
According to reports, to acquire Cuadrado, we’re going to need to offload a couple of players too. Two players frequently mentioned as potentially needing to leave are Salah and Schürrle. In my opinion this is something that would have a positive impact on the team. Salah would be no great loss at all, as he seemingly can’t get near the starting line up at the moment, and never has truly threatened for a spot; however with World Cup winner Andre Schürrle it is a different situation.
An extremely talented player, Andre seems to have been unlucky throughout his Chelsea career. Forever failing to hold down a regular starting berth, Schürrle has been behind Hazard, Oscar and Willian since joining the club. Despite being a lot better in front of goal, which he showed for his country in a victorious World Cup campaign, his general link up play, matched with his poor defensive work rate have led to him getting limited game time.
If the signing of Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina is confirmed, I have faith that he will make a positive difference and can help us to win silverware this season. The only question that remains is what effect will the transfer have on Willian? He is the player most likely to be dropped for Cuadrado, and this could have two possible effects on him. It will either re-invigorate his performances, or ultimately, it could lead to his exit from the club.
