Alan Dzagoev - A look at a possible Chelsea addition

With the Hulk transfer stalling and probably not likely to move forward, I think it is fair to assess other options we have got. There are many rumors linking many forwards to Chelsea, the closest being Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina but the one that has caught my eye is Alan Dzagoev of CSKA Moscow. The Russian winger has set Euro 2012 on fire with his skill. Here are the highlight’s from Russia 4-1 Czech Republic when Dzagoev beat our own Bruce Wayne twice to score a brace.

Dzagoev turns 22 next week and fits our youth system perfectly. He stands at 5’10 with a slight build and is in the same league as Mata, Hazard and Marin. He plays for CSKA Moscow primarily as a Right Winger who cuts inside and is good with both feet. The first I heard of Dzagoev was during 2009 Champions league where he scored from a tight angle in a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford. He was a starter then but the rise of Keisuke Honda and fractured toe meant he saw a decrease in number of minutes played.

Back then, when he was linked to Real Madrid, here is what he had to say

I expect to remain at CSKA for longer time and should I move abroad, I would prefer a transfer to the English Premier League, preferably Chelsea.

Well, that’s a pleasant surprise. The Chelsea connection is probably due to the fact that he was spotted initially in an academy in Primorsky which is funded by our Russian uncle. He is also a huge fan of Frank Lampard and considers him as his idol. Even better!

I have a cheeky habit* of checking player profiles in FIFA(EA Sports FIFA, that is). He is rated 80 with decent attributes even if those ratings were an year old(He is 20 years old according to it). Tactically, Dzagoev is an attacking midfielder playing in the hole behind striker but also plays on the Right flank for the National Team. He is very good on the ball with exquisite touch and vision. Despite not being physically strong and tall, he is a decent header of the ball and has scored good number of headers. Whenever he plays on the right, he stays quite high up the pitch working between the lines, often not tracking back.

*Some might consider it lame though, anyway!

How much will he cost?

According to Transfermarkt, he costs around 14 million pounds. Daily mail also reports him to be around the same price. Arsenal have been the favorites to sign him, to this point. Chelsea and Manchester United have also been closely monitoring him. My guess is he should cost around 20 million pounds at the end of the Euro with the assumption that he keeps scoring in the tournament.

Pros and Cons

Firstly, he is 22(minus 1 week) and is yet to unleash his full potential and has the hunger and desire to perform well. He is very agile and technically sound which helps him to perfectly gel into the Chelsea attack consisting the likes of Hazard and Mata. Now that Frank Lampard is playing in the midfield pivot which needs him to hold his position well, we will be missing his poaching abilities and Dzagoev will be ideal replacement for him even if he isn’t exactly box-to-box player like him. He won’t cost us much either (certainly not as much as Hulk) and his signing would let us buy a top notch midfielder where we can spend more. Most importantly, he loves Chelsea and would surely put his heart into his game.

From a tactical point of view, Hazard and Dzagoev both like to cut inside which means Chelsea won’t be playing with as much width as we are used to in recent years. An attacking treble of Hazard-Mata-Dzagoev in 4-2-3-1 would mean we will have to depend on the full backs to provide crosses into the box. That would mean we have to spend a bit more on getting a decent Right Back who can take duty when Ivanovic is off. Some people might also worry about Ramires losing his position in starting 11 but frankly, I’m all fine with having more talent in our ranks. Another disadvantage-a big one-is although Dzagoev is similar to Lampard in making runs, he isn’t really a box-to-box player and doesn’t track back much. Now, this leaves us with three players-Hazard,Mata and Dzagoev-as defensive liabilities. Especially since Hazard and Dzagoev don’t track back, it would put huge pressure on full backs having to deal with 2vs1 situation. But he can certainly improve on this as he matures.

Alternatives?

The Hulk transfer saga hasn’t ended completely so he would be another player in contention, although I must admit I don’t like it. Stevan Jovetic is obviously another contender but it looks unlikely since Fiorentina is completely opposed to selling him. One player whom I consider a special talent-although signing him would be a gamble-is Martin Harnik of Stuggart. An appeal to Bundesliga fans not to slaughter me for mentioning him, before I go forward.

Harnik primarily plays as centre forward but can also play as winger on Right Flank. What makes him so special is his extraordinary ability to get into weird positions-which you think are stupid-but he somehow scores from there. His goal to shots per game is astonishing and is only second to Higuain in Europe, in that regard. He should cost around 8 million euros according to tranfermrkt and would be a really good replacement for Salmon Kalou. The downside is he doesn’t track back at all, so another defensive liability. He is also 25 years old and hence doesn’t exactly fit our youth policy. I don’t see this deal happening but it’s just food for thought.

And yeah, he also keeps missing like this once in a while which makes sure that we don’t miss Torres of last season.