Chelsea’s ‘BEST OPTION’ as Fofana replacement a transfer so crazy it just might work

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 Jul 2023 12:35 BST
• 4 min read

The transfer plans of Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino need to be redrawn after Wesley Fofana suffered a serious knee injury.

Chelsea have confirmed that Fofana requires surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear, which is expected to keep him out for much of the season.

It is the latest blow for the 22-year-old, who was signed from Leicester last summer for £70 million. He had missed his final campaign with the Foxes because of a broken leg and spent much of last term on the sidelines following a knee problem picked up against AC Milan.

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Cover is clearly required and, according to 90Mins, Chelsea have turned to an unlikely source: Manchester United’s outcast defender Harry Maguire.

“The Blues' scouting department have cited Maguire as one of the best options on the market,” the report states.

Maguire has gained a reputation for being a calamity centre-back in recent years and has suffered repeated humiliations at Man Utd under manager Erik ten Hag, but in transfer talks this can play into Chelsea’s favour.

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The England player has fallen to fifth in the pecking order at Old Trafford, with Ten Hag making it clear he wants to sell by signing Jonny Evans as a free agent. The door is open, therefore, for Chelsea and Man Utd to come to an agreement over the player.

So a transfer is possible, but is it worthwhile for Chelsea?

Harry Maguire to Chelsea: A gamble that could pay off

According to data analytics experts SciSports, it should not be dismissed out of hand.

Fofana and Maguire play in a similar style and do so to a similar quality. Indeed, even with Maguire well below his best, he still boasts a higher SciSkill, a score given to each player based around hundreds of in-game data points, than Fofana.

Chelsea would, therefore, be replacing the Frenchman in a like-for-like style with a player who is known to be on the transfer market.

Of course, the arguments against a deal are clear. Maguire is 30, has spent much of the last two seasons out of sorts and is reputed to perform better in teams playing in a defensive style – something Chelsea are unlikely to do under Mauricio Pochettino. He also does not fit the Blues transfer profile of signing young players with sell-on value.

There are only six weeks left in the transfer window, though, and Chelsea have limited room for manoeuvre. Maguire is not their ideal signing by any means, but at this juncture of the summer, he is the type of gamble the Blues may just need to make.