Saúl Ñíguez

[Zaphod2319]

It was worth the gamble but unfortunately he just looks so off the pace, and at the moment his stock is so low I'd rather give Lewis Baker a chance in midfield. His fundamentals aren't bad and in the build up he's decent at getting in position to receive the pass, but for some inexplicable reason he just dwells on the ball for an extra half second which leads to him getting dispossessed more often than not. It's actually a bit weird since he looks in control when he receives the pass, but just....doesn't release it in time.

Considering he's surplus to requirements at Atletico and this will be his only season at Chelsea I wonder where he'll head to next. My guess would be AC Milan.

If Mou can get him at a discount on wages, Roma.

 

[sun_tzu]

It was worth the gamble but unfortunately he just looks so off the pace, and at the moment his stock is so low I'd rather give Lewis Baker a chance in midfield. His fundamentals aren't bad and in the build up he's decent at getting in position to receive the pass, but for some inexplicable reason he just dwells on the ball for an extra half second which leads to him getting dispossessed more often than not. It's actually a bit weird since he looks in control when he receives the pass, but just....doesn't release it in time.

Considering he's surplus to requirements at Atletico and this will be his only season at Chelsea I wonder where he'll head to next. My guess would be AC Milan.

He does have a contract till 2026 though I think with wages of something close to £175k I think... so Im not sure what will happen but he probably wont be in a rush to take a big pay cut.

Could see him back at Athletico next season - Though i guess Newcastle as allways these days is an option as well

 

[SAFMUTD]

Dodged bullet, and let it be known that giving players 10 year contracts is not exactly the brightest idea.

 

[Zaphod2319]

The Saul LWB experiment begins.

 

[charlenefan]

Another one to laugh at the fairies who lost their shit about not getting him

 

[Blood Mage]

Average player

 

[WeePat]

Sounds like he's the backup LWB now.

“I think that he could play in a wing-back role for us, even if we play a dominant and offensive game because he’s very strong in arriving into the opponents’ box, very strong at finishing, and has good timing to arrive at the second post with his head.

“We sometimes do this in training, that’s why we have the impression that he could maybe be a good fit and maybe in the next games we have to try this, because Ben Chilwell is out long-term and a lot of games are coming and we can maybe not put every game on [Irrelevant point]’s shoulders.”

 

[arthurka]

So if you can't call Saul who do you call?
Nobody?
Sorry it's bad I know.

 

[Maluco]

He should have taken one look at Chelsea’s squad before he went. It was always going to be an uphill struggle to get game time in midfield. More greed than need for Chelsea.

 

[WeePat]

He should have taken one look at Chelsea’s squad before he went. It was always going to be an uphill struggle to get game time in midfield. More greed than need for Chelsea.

With amount of games RLC has played, if Saul was any good or could perform to a decent level he'd have played a lot more. Two of our three main midfielders have missed a huge chunk of games through injury. When you play so bad that you're yanked at HT and replaced by moving Chalobah into midfield, you know it's not stiff competition that's keeping him from playing more, it's him being bad that's holding him back.

 

[BluesJr]

Embarrassing decision by him to go there.

 

[GledTheRed]

Fallen off a cliff

 

[Maluco]

With amount of games RLC has played, if Saul was any good or could perform to a decent level he'd have played a lot more. Two of our three main midfielders have missed a huge chunk of games through injury. When you play so bad that you're yanked at HT and replaced by moving Chalobah into midfield, you know it's not stiff competition that's keeping him from playing more, it's him being bad that's holding him back.

Some players are like that though, they need games and to appreciated. He was moving to a different league and Chelsea have about 8 other realistic options in midfield.

It was a stupid move for both parties.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Some players are like that though, they need games and to appreciated. He was moving to a different league and Chelsea have about 8 other realistic options in midfield.

It was a stupid move for both parties.

When he came in he was 4th choice - no one could realistically have looked at RLC over the past few seasons and thought that he'd be a reliable option as a central midfielder.

The issue is that Saul has been so bad that he's now even a worse choice than our 5th CB - hard to justify picking him over Chalobah even in midfield at this point.

 

[bosnian_red]

Called this one... just never stood out for me.

What on earths happened to him? was regarded as one of the best (top 20 maybe?) CMs in the world a couple of years ago.

Was always overhyped based on scoring a nice goal vs Bayern once. At his best he was a more technical but weaker version of McTominay. Not a DM, not creative, not much of a passer... just someone who can provide energy, disrupt play and be safe enough on the ball. There's no place for players like that in a big team. They need to provide way more on the ball.

 

[Samid]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[FootballHQ]

Never recovered from his league debut.

Premier league was just a little too quick for him.

 

[WeePat]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Nice post, but if I'm honest I'll forget he ever played for us in a couple of years.

 

[Lay]

Never recovered from his league debut.

Premier league was just a little too quick for him.

He was poor in Spain too. One of the most overrated players in recent times. Dined out on that Bayern goal for years

 

[Gandalf]

He was poor in Spain too. One of the most overrated players in recent times. Dined out on that Bayern goal for years

True. I think Atletico view him in much the same way we now view Martial and were hoping he would tear it up so they could offload him.

 

[Madridista2000]

He was only on Loan? Chelsea dodged the bullet.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

His career ha done a lingard

 

[(...)]

He has been struggling with mental issues for years now, I really hope he'll find a way to enjoy his career again because it seems moving abroad wasn't the solution.

 

[Tarrou]

Sounds like a lovely chap