Chelsea go bargain-hunting with €10m Reece James replacement

Tom Weber

• Updated: 14 Dec 2023 08:46 GMT
• 3 min read

Nico Elvedi is being looked at by Chelsea as a potential injury replacement for Reece James, according to a report.

The Blues captain has been dealt yet another injury blow, suffering a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined for several months. It has been a recurring issue for the defender for years, with him missing a whopping 35 games over the last four seasons due to hamstring problems.

James has not managed to play more than five consecutive matches in over a year due to injuries and suspensions and this is clearly an issue - and raises questions over Mauricio Pochettino's decision to name him club captain. With the 24-year-old out, Chelsea are looking for a replacement in January, according to TEAMtalk.

Having been linked with Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah last week, it is now claimed that fellow Bundesliga defender Nico Elvedi is also a target for the Blues. What makes the Swiss international a potential replacement for James is the fact that he can feature both centrally and as a right-back, like the Englishman.

Elvedi an attractive but unrealistic option

The Borussia Monchengladbach defender is certainly an attractive player in the transfer market. Like Tah, the 27-year-old has signed with superagent Pini Zahavi who has a great relationship with Chelsea. Also like Tah, Elvedi made no secret of his desire to leave his Bundesliga side in the summer.

And the similarities to Tah don't stop there either. Both have a bargain release clause, with the Bayer Leverkusen star's exit clause being a measly €18 million, while signing Elvedi would be even cheaper at just €10m.

Elvedi has always been a solid Bundesliga defender, hence his belief over the summer that he had outgrown Gladbach and needed a new challenge, but Chelsea quality? That is doubtful and is backed up by data experts SciSports.

Ability-wise he would be no more than a rotation player at Stamford Bridge and that can't be an attractive prospect for a player in the prime of his career. Like many of his Gladbach teammates, Elvedi hasn't had an easy time of it in recent seasons and this shows up in the data too with his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) dropping sharply from €35m in late 2021 to just €11m now.

Given his price, it could be tempting to make a move for him, but it will likely end up being an unhappy marriage for both parties, something that has been the case all too often at Chelsea in recent years.