How Raphinha compares to Pulisic, Ziyech and Chelsea’s current attackers

Cameron Smith

Updated: 22 Feb 2022 18:03 GMT
4 min read

As exclusively reported by FootballTransfers, Chelsea are currently leading the race for Leeds' Brazilian winger Raphinha, with Barcelona and Arsenal also interested.

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The dynamic dribbler has caught the eye at every club he's played for since breaking through at Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal, and the next step forward in his career is seemingly going to be to Stamford Bridge.

He won't be signing a new deal at Elland Road, and Thomas Tuchel has clearly been impressed by his recent performances, but would he be an upgrade on Chelsea's current options?

After spending big money on each of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, and even Hakim Ziyech, who at €40 million (£33.6m) was seen as a bargain, the Blues need to get the next headline-grabbing addition to their squad right.

Although Tuchel has experimented with a flexibility of shape since the turn of the year, it seems apparent that a 3-4-3 formation is his preferred system at Stamford Bridge, despite the over-reliance on the marauding wing-backs, which has evidently been on display with both Ben Chilwell and Reece James on the treatment table.

Raphinha would then logically seamlessly slot into the right-hand side of the front three, although to do so he'd need to displace Hakim Ziyech, who has been Chelsea's most reliable attacker in 2022, and has finally found a consistent run of form for the team.

With the pair both left-footed creative wingers who operate best when cutting inside of the right flank, it seems illogical to believe that the could co-exist at Chelsea. But, is Raphinha worth the hype, and would he actually be an upgrade on Chelsea's current crop of big-money attackers?

Would Raphinha improve Chelsea's attack?

Premier League Statistics 2021/22

Player	Minutes	Goals	Assists	xG+xA P90	Dribbles P90	Shot-creating actions P90
Raphinha	1,797	9	2	0.47	2.10	4.11
Christian Pulisic	846	3	0	0.37	1.28	1.70
Hakim Ziyech	876	4	2	0.51	2.37	4.32
Callum Hudson-Odoi	962	1	2	0.41	1.78	4.77
Mason Mount	1,438	7	6	0.59	0.94	3.88
Kai Havertz	1,035	2	1	0.34	0.96	2.17
Timo Werner	578	1	1	0.55	0.78	1.40

Raphinha reportedly has two release clauses in his contract, meaning he'll either join Chelsea for €75m, or a mere €25m if Leeds are relegated from the top flight.

But, while he's been tearing things up for Leeds, his numbers don't seem to suggest he'll be that much better than Chelsea's current options. In fact, Ziyech's recent improvement has effectively resulted in a level playing field between the two in regards to who has the better output; essentially, Raphinha may not be as big an upgrade as Chelsea hope.

However, his nine Premier League goals this season is the same number as Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz have managed combined - he may not be a massive improvement, but he'd potentially be more reliable.

Furthermore, the fact he's experienced in England could be crucial due to the relative lack of success that Chelsea have suffered recently when buying from further afield.

His 2.1 dribbles per 90 would also rank second in the Blues attack, while only the aforementioned Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has yet again underperformed his expected goals this term, can better his 4.11 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.

One thing Raphinha would need to improve on is his ability to recycle possession and choose the safe option more often that he currently does. Given his world-class talent, he perhaps unsurprisingly attempts the impossible with his range of passing. But, that has resulted in an average pass accuracy of just 63.2% over the past year, which ensures he's well inside the bottom 10% of wingers in Europe's top five leagues in that regard.

The big question, however, revolves around whether Ziyech can maintain his impressive hot streak of form, and if Tuchel still believes the right flank is a position in need of strengthening.