Chelsea's avoidable right-back mess needs to be fixed

James Shearman

19 Jan 2022 13:39 GMT
3 min read

Southampton defender Tino Livramento — © ProShots

Reece James' excellent start to the 2021/22 campaign did well to hide the fact that Chelsea's hierarchy messed up in terms of the right-back position.

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The club opted to let go of fellow academy graduates Tariq Lamptey and Tino Livramento in consecutive seasons, who could've formed the best selection of right-backs at any club in world football.

Instead, manager Thomas Tuchel has had just James, and an ageing Cesar Azpilicueta, to choose from this season.

And, the 22-year-old got off to a flyer, with four goals and five assists in 14 Premier League starts, helping Chelsea to an early lead in the table.

However, a significant hamstring injury, as well as Ben Chilwell's absence on the opposite flank, has coincided with the Blues' collapse to 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.

That's because Cesar Azpilicueta, and Marcos Alonso for that matter, are not capable of fulfilling both the offensive and defensive duties that their much younger counterparts can.

Azpilicueta, while not at his 2016/17 best, is still able to perform on the right side of a back three, but brings so little to the wing-back position in comparison to James and the two players who should still be at Stamford Bridge.

First, Lamptey broke through under Frank Lampard in the 2019/20 season but was sold to Brighton the following summer because, in a back four, James and Azpilicueta remained ahead in the pecking order - short-sighted but understandable.

We sold Lamptey and Livramento for peanuts without factoring in the age and declining ability of Azpilicueta and Alonso.

This is on us and no one but us. Atrocious squad planning.
— ExpectedChelsea (@ExpectedChelsea) January 18, 2022

Therefore, the much more egregious sale is that of Livramento to Southampton last summer.

Tuchel had just won the Champions League, employing a wing-back system, and was looking at signing Achraf Hakimi to compete with James, indicating that another option was on the club's radar.

Yet, the Blues not only missed out on the Moroccan, but also sold their academy Player of the Year who plays in the same position.

Now, the German boss has been forced to play Azpilicueta or a complete misfit, such as Callum Hudson-Odoi, instead of a home-grown England under-21 international, who has excelled in Ralph Hasenhuttl's side.

How to fix Chelsea's right-back mess?

There is one saving grace for Chelsea and that is Livramento's buy-back clause.

The Blues failed to include such detail to Lamptey's sale, who is now worth around £40million, but the Southampton star can make a return to Stamford Bridge for £25m.

That would represent a £20m loss to the club in a truly embarrassing turn of events, although certainly better to admit their mistake and tie down the top-class talent rather than go on with a lack of depth in the position.