At one point, it looked as if Granit Xhaka would be a Chelsea player. Now, a deal is off, and Chelsea’s midfield looks immediately light – and it could get even worse.
Sunderland have been unequivocal in their stance that captain Granit Xhaka would not be available for sale. The Swiss star’s potential move to Chelsea has gone completely cold despite Chelsea’s £8m bid.
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It is a blow for Xabi Alonso, who had specifically requested Xhaka at Chelsea. A potential reunion is now off the cards, and Chelsea are immediately caught licking their wounds with a midfield addition needed.
Currently, Chelsea have Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, while Andrey Santos, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are fighting to start. Valentin Barco is set to arrive, but one of those could now depart.
Andrey Santos is underrated, Chelsea cannot lose him
While Chelsea could really do with a Xhaka-like signing if it isn’t going to be Xhaka himself, Chelsea must also protect what they have. Essugo could go on loan and Lavia is the subject of interest from Monaco.
That would leave an unproven Barco in the Premier League, as well as Brazil’s Santos. Manchester United are said to be pushing for a £50m move to land the former Strasbourg loanee in the coming weeks.
But Santos is largely underrated in this Chelsea side. It is no secret that Caicedo is a better player when he has the added protective blanket of Santos alongside him, a player who is an expert at intercepting.
A £50m fee is decent money and could be tempting for Chelsea if Man United make good on the links. But having failed to sign Xhaka, Chelsea need to keep Santos who remains an underrated part of the side.
Chelsea are a better team with Santos, and the stats prove it
Last season, Chelsea played a total of 59 games in all competitions. Of those 59, Santos started a total of 25 times. He came on as a sub in 18 matches and was either injured or unused in a further 16 matches.
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He was inch-perfect aganist Spurs.
In the games that Santos started in all competitions, Chelsea averaged a points-per-game of 1.72 points. Not great but considering last season’s struggles, it is also not the end of the world. Santos made a mark.
In the 34 matches where Santos was a sub, unavailable or didn’t get off the bench, Chelsea averaged just 1.44 points per game. A considerable swing, proving that Chelsea are better off with Santos in the XI.
It highlights that Chelsea would be making a grave error if they decided to cash in on Santos. With the Blues failing to get Xhaka, keeping Santos deserves more importance, instead of selling him to a rival.
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