To replace Benjamin Pavard? Why Bayern want to sign Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah
“We still have a few days,” Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel said when asked about signing a new no. 6 and a defender following his side’s 3-1 victory over FC Augsburg on Sunday. Indeed, the window doesn’t close until Friday, and while the time might be time to sign a no.6 at least Bayern have now identified a potential center-back addition in Chelsea FC’s Trevoh Chalobah.
Both Fabrizio Romano and Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg reported on Monday that Bayern are currently in contact with Chelsea to sign the 24-year-old defender. Reports also suggested that Tuchel has been in direct contact with the player over the last 24 hours, and Chalobah wants to leave London for Munich. The main issue at this point is whether this will be a loan or a permanent deal. Bayern prefer a loan move. Chelsea, however, want to sell the player permanently this summer.
Either way, Chalobah’s arrival in Munich would fill the void left by Benjamin Pavard. Bayern have been in discussions with Inter Milan to sell the French defender, and the Serie A side have set a deadline for Tuesday for a transfer. Chalobah could be the solution for Bayern to allow Pavard to leave. After all, Chalobah can play in both center-back roles and, in an emergency, could also play right-back.
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With Inter Milan pushing for Bayern to make a decision regarding the Pavard deal, the question has to be asked whether Chalobah would be an adequate replacement for the French World Cup winner. There is no doubt that Tuchel believes in the player. After all, it was under Tuchel that Chalobah managed his breakthrough in the Premier League. In fact, no other Chelsea coach has used Chalobah more often than the 50-year-old German. Under Tuchel, Chalobah has managed 31 appearances (four goals and one assist) across all competitions (stats per coach).
But how does Chalobah compare to Pavard? We compared the two players over the last two seasons using Opta stats, and with the caveat that Pavard has managed ten more league games over the last two seasons than Chalobah, this is what we found. One number that stuck out, in particular, is that Chalobah seems to be less prone to individual mistakes. While Pavard lost possession 587 times, Chalobah only lost possession on 305 occasions. Pavard was slightly ahead in ground duels won (134 vs 110) and aerial duels won (160 vs 124). That difference can, however, be accounted for by Pavard receiving more playing time during the period in question.
Where Pavard truly stood out was his recoveries, where he led Chalobah with 292 vs 160. That difference is too big to be attributed to playing time alone. Regardless, Tuchel believes in the defender, and Chalobah is three years younger than Pavard and, therefore, might have a higher ceiling to develop. Still, with all that in mind, Chalobah would be a perfect squad player solution for Bayern but is unlikely to move the needle significantly when it comes to making the Bundesliga giants better.
- Date of birth/Age:
- Jul 5, 1999 (24)
-
Nat.:
- Current club:
- Chelsea FC
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2028
- Position:
- Centre-Back
- Market Value:
- €13.00m
- Total Market Value:
- €928.30m
- Competition:
- Premier League
- Position:
- 9.
- Manager:
- Mauricio Pochettino
- Squad size:
- 30
- Latest Transfer:
- Alfie Gilchrist
- Total Market Value:
- €929.45m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 2.
- Manager:
- Thomas Tuchel
- Squad size:
- 27
- Latest Transfer:
- Bryan Zaragoza
