Despite showing clear signs of progress and improvement towards the latter end of the campaign, Mauricio Pochettino was no longer deemed the right man to take charge of Chelsea.
Todd Boehly’s decision was somewhat of a shock considering the form shown by the Blues as of late, but ultimately he thought change was needed.
That change is in the form of Enzo Maresca, who’s set to become Chelsea boss until 2029, after helping Leicester City win the Championship title.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a defensive target who could come in as a replacement for Thiago Silva.
Chelsea eyeing Thiago Silva replacement
After spending nearly four years at Stamford Bridge, Silva’s time as a Blue will come to an end this summer.
The Brazilian’s contract will expire, and he’s already secured himself a move back to his own country, joining Fluminense on a free transfer.
Because of this, a spot has opened up in the Chelsea backline that they could look to fill with Jules Kounde, according to a report from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
It’s mentioned that the French defender is being looked at as an alternative to Barcelona teammate, Ronald Araujo.
Although a fee isn’t stated, it’s said that the Spanish side will have no choice but to sell some individuals this summer, which could give Chelsea an advantage over Kounde’s signature.
Why Kounde would be perfect for Maresca
It’s no surprise to see that plenty of top right-sided centre-halves have been linked to Chelsea recently, including Tosin Adarabioyo, given the arrival of Maresca.
This particular position in the 44-year-old’s side must have a certain profile for his system to work, due to the right-back coming into midfield during the build-up phase, as shown by Ricardo Pereira's positioning in the clip below.
Therefore, if the opposition does steal the ball and launch a transition, the right-centre back must be able to defend with a dynamic approach, as they’ll often find themselves in 1v1 scenarios.
For this reason alone, Kounde would be the perfect fit for Maresca, with the statistics below serving as evidence for that.
Touches
89
83.1
Passes completed
65.3
69.7
Pass accuracy
91%
95%
Dribbled past
0.7
0.5
Balls recovered
4.5
4.5
Duels won
4
2.9
As you can see, Kounde is exactly the type of player that would thrive in the Italian’s setup, due to his ability to impact the game in possession and also add defensive security, while also being a like-for-like swap for Silva.
The 25-year-old is a solid defender who wins the majority of his duels, is rarely dribbled past, and can read the game brilliantly, as shown by his balls recovered stat. It's not a surprise, therefore, to see him described by former Barcelona manager Xavi as "one of the best defenders in the world."
Yet, it’s what he brings from an on-the-ball standpoint that makes him such a fantastic player, making 65.3 passes with an accuracy of 91% and taking 89 touches.
This would be absolutely perfect in a possession-based approach like Maresca’s, who will need his backline to be comfortable on the ball, even inside their own box.
On top of that, the former Sevilla ace can operate as a right-back and a centre-back, meaning that he already has the experience of playing in similar zones to what he’d be in at Chelsea.
Overall, there are so many benefits to signing a player like Kounde, and his profile makes him almost tailor-made to thrive under Maresca.
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