He’s only made 15 appearances for Chelsea, but Baba Rahman has been at the club since 2015 when he was signed from FC Augsburg for a fee close to £22 million.
Reports suggest that although there is late interest from Turkey, Rahman looks set to stay with Chelsea, and appears to have been registered in the squad with the Premier League in place of Loic Remy. However, there are contrasting reports that he has yet to be added to the squad, but could still be at a later date.
In August 2016, the 23-year old joined Schalke on loan after being told he wasn’t to feature in Antonio Conte’s plans. Having only made 13 appearances in the Bundesliga, the Ghana international suffered from injuries and returned to his parent club this summer.
Rahman was close to leaving Chelsea on a number of occasions this summer, with the Blues targeting Juventus left back Alex Sandro. But of course, they did not get their man and are left short on left sided players with only Marcos Alonso and Kenedy, the latter being more of a winger than a wing back.
This is why keeping Rahman this season would be as good as any new signing. Although he is more an attacking styled left back, it is still his preferred and best position. Chelsea only have Alonso for that role right now, unless they put right footed Cesar Azpilicueta over there, which I for one completely disagree with. Davide Zappacosta can also offer cover there but again is naturally suited to the right side.
When Rahman joined Chelsea he was covered with compliments from various pundits, describing him as a top left back and a huge prospect. He failed to cement down his place in the Chelsea side and perhaps didn’t really get given a fair chance.
But with Chelsea featuring in four competitions this season, I believe that he could become just as important as any other squad player, and can offer great competition to Alonso.
Having made 24 appearances for his country, Rahman possesses good experience for his age and is a real threat going forward. In recent times he has improved his defensive abilities as well and has terrific pace, all traits that will make him a great left wing back.
Add to that Conte’s ability to get the best out of his players, I truly believe that he can turn Rahman into an essential player for Chelsea this season.
The rumours are that he is nearing full fitness once again and is expected to be fully fit again by October. He has been training with the first-team squad this week and is believed to be impressing Conte.
There maybe some implications with the league as he wasn’t previously registered. This could be why he is yet to be allocated any shirt number as of yet. But since Remy left, it appears there was a slot available for Rahman to take, as long as the league agree to it.
Mark my words that this particular Ghanaian will be one of our key players this season should he be reinstated into the squad, it may not be as a regular first-team player, but the cover and competition he will provide will be priceless. I believe he is a very under rated player.
