Even after Chelsea’s Club World Cup success in the summer, plenty of people still insisted that the team were lacking in key departments - namely: defence.
That sentiment only grew once Levi Colwill, the club’s best centre-back, suffered a serious injury in his first training session of pre-season. It ended up being a cruel ACL injury that has ruled him out for the majority of the campaign.
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Sunday’s London derby against Arsenal has become a top-of-the-table clash, though, so impressive have Chelsea been so far this term. Defensively, they have four clean sheets from their last five games, and this partly explains why Gary Cahill — who knows a thing or two about what makes a great Chelsea centre-back — believes they do not need to upgrade.
“There has been a lot of noise around this for a long time, but I think the lads that are there are doing a very good job of proving that they don’t need to add to this position,” Cahill told Standard Sport.
“I’ve been very impressed with Wesley Fofana since he’s come back. Touch wood that he stays fit.
“Trevoh Chalobah: look at the job he’s been doing — he’s a bit of an unsung hero. Trevoh is probably the most underappreciated player at Chelsea. I worked with him when he was young, and he’s got a great attitude. He’s been put on loan, thinking that maybe he’s not needed at the club. But you see his attitude when he comes back into the team and rolls his sleeves up.
“Now he is starting in huge games for Chelsea and performing very well. He comes in and does the job week in, week out.”
He added: “Levi Colwill was arguably the main centre-back at the club, but they also have Tosin [Adarabioyo], who has a bit more experience, and Josh Acheampong is developing.”
Acheampong has not started for the club since last month’s Carabao Cup humdinger against Wolves, which ended 4-3 to Chelsea, but the defender’s graceful displays when called upon by Enzo Marecsa this season have masked the fact that he is just still 19 years of age.
“Josh does need more game time to continue his development, but it’s difficult because he’s got players in front of him,” says Cahill, who is speaking in conjunction with SkyBet. “He’s going to have to be patient.
I worked with Trevoh Chalobah when he was young, and he’s got a great attitude. He comes in and does the job week in, week out
“I like Josh. He is very comfortable on the ball and likes to carry the ball out from the back. When he’s been called upon, he’s played well. He just needs to keep performing well in training and show the manager that he’s more than capable.
“There has been a lot of noise on the defence and sometimes you can understand why when they’re chopping and changing that position a lot, but when everyone is fully fit, they’re making a good case that they don’t need another centre-back to come in. Their centre-backs are all young and still learning; they’re not the finished article yet.”
Cahill, who won eight trophies in as many years with the Blues between 2011 and 2019, is just as reassured by Chelsea’s midfield. Especially, by a certain Ecuadorian.
“This season, from what I’ve seen of Moises Caicedo, I’d argue he’s been one of the best midfielders not only in the Premier League but in Europe,” Cahill said.
“I played with some great midfielders in my career such as N’Golo Kante, Michael Essien, Nemanja Matic. These are top holding midfield players. Caicedo reminds me of Kante in that he’s everywhere and puts fires out everywhere on the pitch. On the other side of the game, looking at driving the ball and making passes, he is also good at that and has added goals to his game.
“Chelsea have been blessed to have so many great midfielders, but he is one of the very best in world football at this moment in time, in that holding-midfield position.
Chelsea have beaten Liverpool, Tottenham and Barcelona this season, showing they can cause Arsenal problems at Stamford Bridge if they are defensively resolute and as hard-working as they were in defeating the Spanish giants earlier this week.
“I think Chelsea have improved from last year,” Cahill explains. “They’re very much going on an upward spiral. It is pleasing to have a young team that is growing all the time.
“Qualifying for the Champions League, winning Conference League and the Club World Cup, these were massive moments. Coming into this season — looking at the young age of this squad — you’re still going to get a few ups and down. But they are starting to look like the real deal, putting it together against the big teams.
“I was very impressed with Chelsea against Barcelona and certainly they’ve improved with the strength in depth — they have so many options all over the pitch.”
