Why Pau Torres is a poor Antonio Rudiger replacement for Chelsea

Cameron Smith

• 29 Apr 2022 23:05 BST
• 4 min read

Antonio Rudiger will leave Chelsea this summer and his departure has started a flurry of transfer speculation as to who will be his replacement.

Although Chelsea's sanctions denied them the chance to extend Rudiger's contract at Stamford Bridge, they are expected to be able to make summer acquisitions to replace him.

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With Andreas Christensen also departing, likely to Barcelona, Chelsea will be left with a mini defensive crisis. It could be compounded by a potential exit for Cesar Azpilicueta, but that hasn't been confirmed or denied yet.

With Fikayo Tomori, Marc Guehi and Kurt Zouma leaving last season, Chelsea now have a shortage of centre-back options and it's a problem the Blues need to fix.

The cheap and potentially best option is simply to integrate Levi Colwill into the squad following his impressive loan spell at Huddersfield. As a left-footed player he would suit the role Rudiger currently plays at Chelsea, and as a graduate of their academy he wouldn't cost a penny.

But, given he has only one year of professional experience under his belt, at Championship level, it would perhaps be unwise to heap all the pressure onto his young shoulders.

Instead, Chelsea have looked further afield to find their Rudiger replacement. Jules Kounde was pursued last year and the club are expected to go back in for the Frenchman this summer. However, he has featured more often than not on the right-hand-side of a back three and hence is far more of a Christensen replacement.

In terms of player to come in for Rudiger a number of names have been floated around. Wolves' Maximilian Kilman has been scouted heavily this season, while Joško Gvardiol has quietly been superb in his debut campaign at RB Leipzig. Both are left-footed so would suit the role.

A third name is Pau Torres. The Villarreal defender helped his side to the Europa League title last season and has played a key role in their progression to the Champions League semi-final this time around. According to Spanish outlet La Razon, Chelsea are willing to activate Torres' €60 million release clause in order to bring him to West London.

However, it would be unwise for the Blues to pick up the Spaniard as Rudiger's replacement.

Pau Torres to Chelsea?

First of all, it's worth noting that Torres is an excellent defender in his own right. He's a full Spain international and has been linked with Real Madrid as Sergio Ramos' replacement in the past.

As you'd expect from a Spaniard, he is an excellent ball-distributor. Torres is not only comfortable on the ball in tight spaces, but he's also progressive with how he uses possession. He is in the top 10% of centre-backs in Europe's five leagues for progressive carries and the top 12% for progressive passes.

Essentially what that means is Torres is brilliant at getting the ball forward from defence.

But, he does have limitations and they'll remind Chelsea fans of a certain departing player who isn't Rudiger.

Torres is a fairly passive and physically weak defender. While his intelligence and reading of the game is high-quality, he lacks the strength and aggression that many centre-backs have.

Rudiger has become known for his aggressive nature, which has endeared him to the Chelsea faithful and the general public. It's controlled aggression, which is why he's still yet to receive a red card at Chelsea, but it's far more present in his game than Torres.

With Thiago Silva already a defender who prefers to sweep up rather than initiate pressure, Chelsea can't afford to have Torres do the exact same.

It was seen in Villarreal's Champions League first-leg tie against Liverpool, with Torres taken out of the game for Sadio Mane's goal, and it's an obvious flaw in his game.

While Torres remains a good player, he simply doesn't suit the way Rudiger plays and although Thomas Tuchel could change what the role entails to tailor it to Torres it's not worth it when there are more suitable options on the market or in the academy.