With Antonio Conte revealing that Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado will be part of his squad for the upcoming Premier League season, I ask where he will be best deployed under the Italian’s gruelling regime.
Cuadrado is predominantly a right-winger, but his pace and trickery also allowed him to play as a right wing-back during his fruitful loan spell at Juventus last season.
This is a position favoured by Conte due to his reliance upon three-back formations, which he used to great effect during spells at Juventus and also as manager of Italy.
Furthermore, this versatility may push the Colombian up the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, with players such as Pedro and the returning Victor Moses possibly at risk due to their lack of defensive capabilities.
Fellow South-American Willian will certainly offer stiffer opposition to Cuadrado, with his tireless and selfless work rate combining with a much-publicised improvement in goals and assists last season.
Cuadrado contributed six goals and four assists for Juventus last season – as the ‘Old Lady’ won a fifth consecutive Serie A title, and his blistering turn of pace allowed him to break up and launch attacks with consummate ease. Whilst his gangly figure drew numerous amounts of fouls from opposition defenders, with his unequivocal South-American flair helping to further deceive the Colombian’s adversaries.
Conte outlined his intentions to bring Cuadrado back to West-London during his post-match press conference, after the 2-0 loss to Rapid Vienna.
I wanted him when I was a coach at Juventus and he will come back very soon and train and play with us. Now, he’s a Chelsea player and he’ll stay with us. If something changes you’ll know.
These quotes indicate that the Italian is keen to see Cuadrado play a far more significant role than he did under Jose Mourinho, where he only made four starts after joining from Fiorentina for an initial £23million in the January transfer window.
This revelation may, however, spell the end to Victor Moses’ wretched Chelsea career – despite a bright display against Rapid Vienna. As added competition will now see the Nigerian battle for the coveted right-wing/right wing-back position with both Pedro and Willian, as well as the returning Juan Cuadrado.
