Juan Cuadrado

[Sovieticus 743]

Who could we buy though? there's a shortage of proper right wingers at the top level so to find one who can score goals consistently will cost an awful lot. Bale and Reus are the obvious names, Reus looks nailed on to go to Real and Bale will go for crazy money.

Hulk

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Im sure Reus to Real are mostly made up, but that doesnt change the fact that he is unlikely to join us.

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

wow, the tabloids are really blowing Montella's quotes out of context

"Montella: No chance he leaves" ok, even though he did not say that

[bethos1 802]

A lot of the spanish media report that he has his heart set, could be bollocks though.

Well the spanish media is one of the worst in the world imo

[Beepu 1,714]

Is he really nailed on for Real though, nothing solid out there reporting that, in fact it's Man-City's name that pops up when you google it.

To be honest I think alot of the times the media play the guessing game like we do, I remember Hazard was set to join a bunch of big teams before signing for Chelsea. So I'm still hoping it's not true for Reus, but I wouldn't really be surprised if he moved to Madrid

[nyikolajevics 2,573]

We need a centre back and a super star RW who can score goals. Since we're cooperating strictly with FFP, it seems a waste to spend almost £30m to only marginally improve the squad.

How do you know that Cuadrado would only marginally improve our squad? Drogba was 26(like Cuadrado) when we signed him from Marseille and everyone was as sceptical as now.. He was a good striker in France and he become world class here. The same can happen with Cuadrado.

Sheva, Torres or Deco were all super stars but they sucked hard here.. Everybody is obsessed with Reus but there is no guarantee that he would succeed.

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

Well the spanish media is one of the worst in the world imo

If you mean Reus, I think it is absolutely normal to think he has his heart on Madrid.

[lionsden 4,689]

I'm I the onlyone that actually believe Willian is better than him or at worst, they are on the same level? from a technical and tactical standpoint. Even stats wise, last season was the only abnormally.

My policy is very simple, if it doesn't improve us, don't buy unless it's for squad purposes and you don't spend £25 odd million on a squad player. Either get a player that's clearly superior to what we already have or don't bother.

[Rekin 835]

I'm I the onlyone that actually believe Willian is better than him or at worst, they are on the same level? from a technical and tactical standpoint. Even stats wise, last season was the only abnormally.

My theory is very simple, if it doesn't improve us, don't buy unless it's for squad purposes and you don't spend £25 odd million on a squad player. Either get a player that's clearly superior to what we already have or don't bother.

What do you base that opinion on?

Cuadrado played as a wingback a few seasons ago, so his stats wouldnt be better than they are in the past. This season he has played almost exactly the same amount of time as Willian in a worse team that has scored 24 goals fewer than Chelsea so far. In those minutes he has 4 goals and 4 assists, while Willian has 1 of each.

It is also worth mentioning that Cuadrado's last season was better than any that Willian has ever had, even though Willian played in both the league in Ukraine and Russia before Chelsea, both worse than Serie A.

He also averaged a higher amount of tackles and interceptions than Willian both this season and the previous one, while being both more productive and achieving a higher amount of successful dribbles.

Basically, he has shown himself to be better than Willian in both key offensive and defensive statistics over the last 1,5 seasons.

Who on this board would say no to a player than can retain (or even somehow improve) Willian's defensive contribution, while actually scoring and assisting at the same time?

It is exactly what Chelsea needs.

Can he fail here? Sure, but that goes for every single player out there.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I'm I the onlyone that actually believe Willian is better than him or at worst, they are on the same level? from a technical and tactical standpoint. Even stats wise, last season was the only abnormally.

My policy is very simple, if it doesn't improve us, don't buy unless it's for squad purposes and you don't spend £25 odd million on a squad player. Either get a player that's clearly superior to what we already have or don't bother.

You're not alone, almost as wasteful as Willian's signing.

[bababoom 4,478]

What players do you suggest?

[Leif 6,006]

Willian is 100% the more consistent player, but he's consistently average, where-as Cuadrado is a more hot and cold player, but he'll actually win some MOTM awards unlike the rest of the '3' competing with Hazard/Oscar.

So it just comes down to what you want to see. A game winner who offers less defensive solidity or a game saver who offers less going forward. It's apples and oranges, and really we won't see that much different results with 1 or the other playing, i think. What 1 lacks, the other compensates for. They'd be interesting options on either wing with Hazard in the hole but I doubt i'll see that in this lifetime.

I personally prefer hot and cold players to average ones, as while an average one may be more dependable, they're also more predictable, lacklustre and redundant after a while; all the things I use football as an escape from. I want to be entertained by effective enough flair players, it's why I originally decided to support a big club, there's no point in lying, and Willian doesn't offer me that at all. I thought he would, after seeing him rip us a new arsehole a few seasons ago, but clearly he's having too much sex since moving to London and he's lost his mojo.

No point going into how many games i have or haven't watched. Just take my unwanted 2 cents.

Not an upgrade, but IMO, the perfect 'other option'.

[Leif 6,006]

This is just throwing out opinions with 0 basis now, but with Reus on the other wing, no matter how humble he seems, that'd be another 'star' on paper, and the more stars you have, the more disgruntled the likes of Hazard could become in the long run.

Reus would have pressure to sustain his past glorious figures with Dortmund; he has a name for himself already, he has to go out there and get the goals. Cuadrado, he can still choose where his name goes, there's a lot less pressure for him & he can still be moulded into a finished article of a player under Jose. Only a mad man would tinker with Reus' style of play. You build a team around Reus, you don't make him fit your team. Madrid will get this part wrong I'm sure. As such, buying a finished article of a player when he doesn't *perfectly* fit your team is risky. Where do you go if he doesn't work out?

Just with those few things considered, I believe Cuadrado would be the better team player regardless of actual ability level. He'd play with more freedom and be that 'unknown quantity' player which is usually the intangible shit that wins games you don't expect.

[lionsden 4,689]

What players do you suggest?

Brahimi, Arda turan, Draxler, Aubameyang, Heung-min Son. These are wingers/AM that i have seen with real substance to their game outside of the unrealistic ones like Robben,Reus et al. Again it's just my opinion of watching them play.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I'm I the onlyone that actually believe Willian is better than him or at worst, they are on the same level? from a technical and tactical standpoint. Even stats wise, last season was the only abnormally.

My policy is very simple, if it doesn't improve us, don't buy unless it's for squad purposes and you don't spend £25 odd million on a squad player. Either get a player that's clearly superior to what we already have or don't bother.

Last season wasn't the only anomaly. He's been consistently far more productive and creative than Willian.

This season isn't exactly Cuadrado's best season, but his stats are still far better than Willian's:

In fact, this season Cuadrado made more assists per 90 minutes than even Hazard(0.27 vs 0.19) and scored about the same amount of goals from open play per 90 as Hazard (0.27 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes).

[Pizy 18,367]

Keep in mind that the standard of opposition Willian is up against is much more difficult than what Cuadrado faces. These stat charts are pretty meaningless.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Keep in mind that the standard of opposition Willian is up against is much more difficult than what Cuadrado faces. These stat charts are pretty meaningless.

True, but it goes both ways: Willian plays for a far superior team, with far better players, and racking up assists and goals should be much easier for him.

[manpe 10,861]

I would rather we keep our current crop of right wingers and reevaluate the situation in the summer with cool heads, wider array of options and probably cheaper prices.. not to mention to also avoid the curse of January. I can see it only being viable if we sold Schürrle, which I don't think is happening.

Cuadrado would be a decent patch in case Schürrle left, but for the reported price? He better be damn good, though I'm reserving my judgement, because I've been wrong in the past countless times by judging too quickly. If he comes, welcome and all the best! If he doesn't, I won't miss him (well, maybe a little, new players are always exciting lol).