Five Left-Back options for Chelsea to consider in January
5) Alfonso Pedraza (Villareal)
The least exciting option of all players on this list, Alfonso Pedraza is a 25-year-old Spanish left-sided “defender” for Villareal.
He’s played left back, left wing-back and as a left midfielder at various times in his career and emerges as a relatively cheaper option that fits very strongly in the Ben Chilwell mold of this season — a sort of “Moneyball-esqe” approach.
While his attacking numbers don’t immediately stand out, 2 assists in 12 games this season in La Liga and 1 goal and 4 assists in 29 last season, he possesses the link-up passing and ball retention ability that made Chilwell key to the team — and would be a very astute pick up if the club could bring him in on a loan deal.
In conclusion of Chelsea’s left-back options
Lewis Hall did have a great debut performance for Chelsea in the FA Cup against relatively modest opposition this weekend.
However, the struggles for the club in the immediate aftermath of Chilwell’s injury coupled with them missing Reece James for close to 8 weeks now make it imperative that the club secure a left back in some capacity; and for a club looking to challenge in 5 competitions still, finding the right fit to help the squad will be key to their success.
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As a Chelsea fan, I personally fully back Tuchel’s ability to identify the best option for him and hope the club can come out of this tricky window well placed to kick on in the second half of the 21/22 campaign!