Another Monaco talent.
Since the start of the winter transfer window, Chelsea have been scrambling to actively resolve their personnel issues. And all with an eye to the future, that is by signing young and promising players. Of course, the Londoners broke their teeth on Enzo Fernandez, or rather, on the stubbornness of Benfica, but they managed to churn out a few transfers.
18-year-old striker David Datro Fofana has already sealed the deal and 18-year-old Vasco da Gama midfielder Andrei Santos completed it, but Chelsea’s most sensational signing in January was 21-year-old Monaco defender Benoît Badiashile. And we will take a closer look at it.
Portrait
This is another graduate of Munich’s ever-growing talent academy. Benoit signed his first professional contract with the Monegasques in January 2018. A joined the club’s youth system at the age of 15. The son of a nurse and an architect has roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was identified quite early by the French youth coaches. He was already involved in the under 16 team.
At the age of 17, Badiashile made his debut in Ligue 1. He took part in the match against PSG in November 2018. The Monegasques, then led by Thierry Henry, lost 0-4. Since then, Benoit has firmly established himself in the Monaco cage, mostly playing as a left centre-back or even a left winger. Usually defenders who come into the team so early for a while can fall, get lost, but Benoit only systematically increased his presence in the team, he rarely looked out of place, depressed. More often than not he has impressed with his maturity, intelligence and calmness.
After four years in Ligue 1 and over 100 league appearances, Badiashile was called up to the French first team and made his debut in September against Austria (2-0) in the Nations League. Even if he didn’t have the chance to play at the World Cup in Qatar, it’s worth a lot to join the national team, where the competition is very high.
Role
With few exceptions, when Badiashile appeared at left-back, his main role was to play on the left in a central duo. At club level, Badiashile managed to work with Henry, Niko Kovacs and Philippe Clement. Everyone preferred a four-man formation, so Benoit didn’t have to change his habits much.
He has rarely proven himself as a left footer in a central three-man formation, although it is believed Chelsea will use him there. However, it’s not worth worrying about. There is nothing in his skill set to suggest that he cannot cope with this role. It might even suit him better.
Strengths
It appears that a tall Frenchman should be more effective at riding martial arts than playing bottom. And air dominance really is. He wins three out of four riding duels on average, which can be extremely useful in the power conditions of the English Premier League. But many are surprised by his grace, regularity and composure when he works with the ball underneath. He is a mobile and technically equipped defender, from which, purely from external data, this is not expected.
Badiashile was hard to see tense, agitated, restless, or reckless. He is very aware of his technical skills in handling the ball, without overestimating or underestimating them, which is extremely important to feel comfortable defending even under pressure. He knows how to think under pressure and find the best options to continue the game.
AS Monaco likes to control the ball, dispose of it, and Badiashile was the main defender of this team, who acted as a coach, charging the first pass, which is likely to aggravate and blow up the whole match. Every team has or should have a central defender with this ability. This greatly expands the possibilities of the game. Chelsea Benoit will help speed up the exit from the defense and improve the quality of the first pass in this maneuver.
Growth and external heaviness do not prevent him from demonstrating good reaction and acceleration. Previously he was prone to parting with fouls, but has recently improved in this component as well. Badiashile is averaging 0.8 fouls per game in 2022 and 1.1 fouls per game in 2021.
Cracking
From a physical, technical and tactical point of view, the Frenchman presents himself as a well-prepared and quality defender. He is observant, rarely loses concentration and makes mistakes, although even high-class defenders sin with this. And when you change leagues and in terms of adaptation, this is almost inevitable. Coulibaly himself, with all his experience and class Premier League adapted a lot and if adapted at all.
At the same time, French experts and scouts note some details that Badyashil needs to work on. He should be more assertive and tough in his own penalty area, right in front of goal. Sometimes it seems like he’s too scared to take a penalty. And he can go sideways.
At some point, Benoit may not fight hard enough, not make a risky slide, and also rush to block the shot too early, falling on the lawn, and not trying to train on the opponent to the last, positioning himself in front of him. These are all nuances, but in the game of a central defender, who often turns out to be the last obstacle before the opponent’s goal, there are no trifles.
Prospects at Chelsea
Unlike many previous Chelsea debutants, Badiashile was acquired at the request of Graham Potter, who, with his tactical training, knows where Benoit can apply his skills. A well-trained graduate from one of Europe’s top football academies should have no problem understanding Chelsea’s game and role.
At the same time, he’ll likely have to rebuild from his usual four-back setup to a three-back setup. And here he is destined for the left role in the top three. There he will be able to get sufficient insurance from the experienced Thiago Silva himself for the first time, as well as show his skills of him, even in the first pass.
