“He performed wing-back beneath Thomas Tuchel once they [] received the Champions League,” Crystal Palace supervisor Oliver Glasner identified about mortgage signing Ben Chilwell at his Friday information convention
It’s simple to overlook this truth, or overlook that it solely occurred three-and-a-half years in the past in Might 2021.
When Chilwell arrived in west London in August 2020, he had a repute as one of many nation’s most enjoyable younger defenders. Having made his England debut in September 2018, he was earmarked as a doable Three Lions left-back for years to return.
A participant at all times conditioned extra to assault than defend, Chilwell assisted from the bench on his Chelsea debut in a League Cup win over Barnsley, then scored and assisted on his Premier League debut for the membership towards Palace.
That season, throughout 42 appearances, Chilwell scored 4 instances and assisted seven extra, and fashioned a part of the perfect defence in Europe following Tuchel’s appointment in January.
They conceded simply eight targets in 18 league video games between his arrival – a mere two in seven Champions League knockout matches – whereas Chilwell and fellow full-back Reece James grew to become key shops in assault.
Certainly, he scored an essential objective within the quarter-final win over Porto earlier than largely nullifying Vinicius Junior throughout two semi-final legs and performing admirably within the last, the place Chelsea beat .
This momentum continued at first of the 2021-22 season with Chilwell scoring in three consecutive Premier League video games in October. Having netted on the ultimate day of the earlier season, it meant he had scored in every of his previous 4 Premier League appearances. He stated later that he was competing with James to complete the season because the membership’s prime scorer.
Nonetheless, his profession trajectory modified with a ruptured cruciate ligament harm in November 2021, ending his marketing campaign.
Regardless of being named vice-captain in August 2023, he has by no means rediscovered his Champions League-winning type or adjusted to every new Blues supervisor.
Underneath Glasner, he could have the chance to play in a well-known system and undertake a place of seniority for the primary time in a number of seasons. If he displaces or shifts present incumbent Tyrick Mitchell that’s – some extent the Austrian emphasised in his information convention.
And he is nonetheless solely 28, so in principle a return to type would enable loads of time to rebuild his profession.
On a completely unrelated word, I’m wondering who the England supervisor is now…
