Chelsea assessing the possibility of signing this bargain Bundelisga forward
By Evan Curnew
Chelsea has set their sights on French international Marcus Thuram to help reinforce their attack.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea is looking into the situation of Marcus Thuram who is set to leave Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Marcus Thuram is the son of Les Blues legend Lilian Thuram and the forward has spent 4 seasons with Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga. Over that period, Thuram has notched an impressive 41 goals and 26 assists. Last year, an injury-riddled season saw Thuram have a disappointing campaign as Mönchengladbach finished 10th. Thuram has bounced back and has been one of the most in-form players in Germany, with 13 goal involvements in 15 league games.
His recent form saw him earn a call-up to the French national team for the World Cup in Qatar. Notably, Thuram came on as a late first-half substitute for Olivier Giroud in the World Cup Final against Argentina and assisted on Kylian Mbappe’s game-tying goal in the 81st minute sending the game to extra time.
Why is Chelsea targeting Marcus Thuram?
An enticing reason for Chelsea’s pursuit of the French forward is that his current contract is set to expire in less than 6 months and it has been widely reported that Thuram plans to leave Borussia Mönchengladbach whether on a free in the summer or during this transfer window. Bundesliga journalist Ronan Murphy reported earlier this month that Thuram can be available for as little as £8.8M.
In addition to Thuram having one foot out the door in Germany, there’s a very good reason Chelsea are looking to secure the services of Thuram – he’s lethal in attack.
A scouting report from The Coaches Voice, sums up Thuram’s style of play:
"“Defenders often attempt to remain as close as possible to Thuram to deny him the chance to dribble if he succeeds in controlling the ball. He is big, but his close control is as brilliant as his dribbling, so he can find his way out of pressured situations with impressive ease. He takes numerous small touches when he dribbles, and uses the outside of his foot to do so, meaning he is constantly poised to flick the ball to a teammate with very little backlift or to simply continue to dribble – making him very difficult for defenders to read, and someone who draws a large number of fouls.”"
Thuram’s main contribution is to be a nuisance in the opposition box and often he finds himself in prime positions to score goals from close range in the box on one touch. Just looking at his goals from this season alone, Thuram has the ability to rattle defenders with his elusiveness and ability to create space.
Thuram’s role as a centre-forward is much different than current Chelsea forward Kai Havertz’ who’s game focuses a lot more on helping in build-up play and dribbling the ball into the final third. Even recent new addition Joao Felix plays much more like a second striker than the poacher that Thuram could be for Chelsea.