Midseason grades: Chelsea’s Serie A transfers

19 gen 2018

With Chelsea poised to make at least one splash from Italy this month, now is as good a time as ever to look at their acquisitions from Italy this past summer. Antonio Rudiger and Davide Zappacosta joined the Blues from Serie A in the hopes of reinforcing Chelsea’s backline for their Premier League title defense.

Here’s how the two players have performed in the first half of this season.

ANTONIO RUDIGER:
The German international joined from Roma after a season in which he missed significant time due to a torn ACL.

In 16 Premier League appearances, the defender has helped anchor Antonio Conte’s three-man backline. In English completion, he has logged over 1,300 minutes, and has found the back of the net twice, and laid off an assist for a teammate. He has also helped Chelsea escape, what many considered, the Group of Death in the Champions League.

Unfortunately, for Chelsea, the 35 million euros they spent on him have not equated to the type of defensive support they would’ve hoped for. They’ve conceded nearly 10 shots-per-game this season, a slight increase from their PL winning 2016-17 campaign.

Mid-term grade: B+

DAVIDE ZAPPACOSTA:
The Italian international came to Stamford Bridge on the final day of the summer transfer window. Chelsea paid the high-price of 25 million euros for the right back from Torino.

In 13 appearances in the Premier League this season, the right back has contributed a lone goal and assist. Known as a creative right back, Chelsea would’ve hoped for more contributions from Zappacosta…especially considering Rudiger has produced more goals than him.

As of now, the 25 million euros don’t seem to be paying off. Chelsea shouldn’t feel too bad though, Zappacosta continues a tradition of Torino wingbacks who’ve underwhelmed since making big-money moves away (see: Darmian, Matteo & Peres, Bruno).

Mid-term grade: C+