Following Filipe Luis’ return to Atletico Madrid, Jose Mourinho has spoken of Chelsea’s need to acquire another left-back in order to create competition and squad depth. That left-back could be in the shape of Galatasaray’s young Brazilian Alex Telles. The 22 year-old is a typical South American defender in that he is probably better going forwards than he is defending, and possesses great pace and flair.
Telles began his career at Juventude in southern Brazil in 2011, where he made 13 appearances over two years in the fourth tier of the Brazilian football pyramid. Despite the low-level competition he was playing in, Telles did enough to stand out and when Serie A side Gremio formed a partnership with Juventude Telles made the short move to the Porto Alegre side in 2013. Telles only stayed at Gremio for a year, but he caught the eyes of many and made the 2013 Serie A team of the year at the tender age of 19 as Gremio finished runners-up to Cruzeiro.
Telles had earned many admirers from Europe’s big leagues, including Porto and Chelsea, but work-permit issues limited his choices and he ended up joining Turkish side Galatasaray. Telles has enjoyed a hugely successful time in Turkey, winning the Cup twice and the League once in just two seasons. He has also tested himself at the highest level playing in the Champions League both years, and in fact played against Chelsea in both legs of the 2013/14 Champions League first knock-out stage which the Blues won 3-1 on aggregate.
Marauding Brazilian full-backs aren’t the kind of defenders you would necessarily expect Mourinho to go after. In Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta he currently has two defenders who are fairly defensively minded, and he would probably cringe at the amount of space that Telles can leave behind him when he ventures forward. However, Telles would act as a handy compliment to Azpilicueta’s game and provide Chelsea with a different style of left-back, and is talented enough as an attacker to also cover the left-wing position too.
Telles makes more sense as a deputy left-back than Filipe Luis given that he is a much younger player. Mourinho has been criticised by some for under using Luis, who is one of the game’s best left-backs, but Telles will be happier to be second choice than the Madrid-bound man. Telles’ game certainly needs development, and you imagine that it will take a while for Telles to adapt to a Mourinho-style defence and earn his managers trust, but he is a naturally talented player who has enjoyed a high level of success wherever he has gone so far in his short career. Telles would be a smart purchase who is good enough to cover now but has the potential to grow into a very good first-team Chelsea player, or be sold for profit in a few years. A move to Chelsea and the Premier League would be comfortably the biggest test he has faced, but he’s shown an ability to adapt and prove himself quickly and both Gremio and Galatasaray.
