Can Baba Rahman dislodge Cesar Azpilicueta at Chelsea?

After the unveiling of Abdul Baba Rahman seemed like just a dream come true. The Ghanaian left back finally completed his £21.7m move from Augsburg.

However, some football observers are questioning how exactly this expensive new acquisition will fit into Chelsea’s first XI and compete with first choice Cesar Azpilicueta at the left back position following the departure of Filipe Luis back to Atletico Madrid earlier in the summer.

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho made no secret of his admiration for Rahman as his choice left back to challenge Cesar Azpilicueta for the spot.

“This week we got a very good young left-back with potential and one of the best attacking players in the world,” Mourinho said in a pre-match conference.

Stefan Reuter, Augsburg general manager said the player have grown so fast and made a massive leap.

“Baba Rahman has developed tremendously in his year with us and made a great leap.

“It’s not just reward for his achievements, but also for our work, if international giants like Chelsea are interested in signing him.”

Given that the first choice left back is Cesar Azpilicueta, can Baba Rahman oust Azpilicueta at the left back and make the Blues first eleven?

Baba Rahman, 21 years old Ghanian player, started his playing career in Ghana, and eventually came to Germany to play for Greuther Furth. He stayed there for two seasons, before signing for Augsburg before making his mega move to Chelsea.

Rahman had a phenomenal rise in the past couple of years. He was playing in Ghanian league only 3 years ago. Now, he is going to play in the Premier League for one of the biggest football clubs in the world. That kind of feat is difficult to achieve.

Given that Filipe Luis couldn’t rival Cesar Azpilicueta, is Baba Rahman good enough to put Azpilicueta on the bench?

With the help of Squawka, we compare the two players statistically, and see if who stands the better chance to claim the left back position.

Rahman and Azpilicueta have played roughly the same amount of games, with Rahman having played two games more. This means that these two players are comparable.

Rahman had 21 tackles more than Azpilicueta, which means that he is better at tackling. He also managed to win 77 aerial duels against Azpilicueta’s 38 duels. This means that Rahman is a lot more effective in the air than Azpilicueta. This is very strange, given that Rahman is only one centimeter taller than Azpilicueta. I guess he is simply better at jumping.

Rahman is also more aggressive than Azpilicueta, because he committed 37 fouls, while Azpilicueta committed only 19 fouls. Rahman was also better in interceptions than Azpilicueta (83-59). This would mean that Rahman is better at anticipating passes from opposing players.

Both players had equal amount of blocks, while Azpilicueta had eight more clearances. Rahman is also more error prone than Azpilicueta. He made three defensive errors, while Azpilicueta didn’t make any.

Azpilicueta had an overall better defensive score, although he was worse in most of defensive actions. There isn’t a big difference in defensive score, however there is a big difference in possession score. Rahman had a terrible possession score of -233, while Azpilicueta had a score of 63. This means that Rahman is a lot worse in ball possession, which could be a worry for Chelsea. Because Rahman has low possession score, Azpilicueta has a lot higher total score (564>265).

Rahman is better in most of defensive responsibilities, but his weak possession score makes Rahman a weaker player than Azpilicueta.

Rahman will have to work harder to be able to rival Azpilicueta in Chelsea team..

In summary, Chelsea have gotten themselves a future and promising new left-back. Filipe Luis went back to Atletico Madrid, so Chelsea bought Abdul Baba Rahman as his replacement. Rahman is better than Azpilicueta in some ways, but weaker is some areas.

Rahman might surprise critics and become the first choice left back at Chelsea, but his statistics show he needs to prove himself and justify Chelsea’s £21.7m price tag on him.

 

Anthony Nlebem