And so, Juan Mata has moved away from Chelsea and surprisingly ended up at Manchester United. But that’s not something Chelsea and especially Jose Mourinho should be worried about right now. The main thing now is to find a suitable replacement.
When we talk about replacements, people usually point out to the popular and costly choices like Draxler and even Isco would have been ideal if he hadn’t just joined Real Madrid in the summer. I have a different suggestion – Real Sociedad’s 22yr old, Antoine Griezmann.
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Antoine Griezmann is actually a Left Winger (Attacking Left Midfielder) and can also play as a Left Forward. Chelsea currently have THREE Left Wingers in their squad – Eden Hazard, Andre Schurrle and Willian but I would still suggest that Chelsea should sign Griezmann and make Hazard a central attacker midfielder (number #10) or a right winger. IF that’s not working, Griezmann can operate in the Right Wing or even play as a Central Attacker. He’s capable of playing at any position right behind the striker and also as a 2nd striker.
Griezmann has been in top form for Real Sociedad this season – scoring 14 goals and assisting 2 in his 18 apps (17 starts and 1 sub). His tally of 14 goals this season is already 4 more than what he managed in the entire 2012/13 season. He’s a very talented youngster who has a shot accuracy of 64% and a pass success of 77%.
The main reason why I think he is a suitable replacement for Juan Mata is because he loves to hold on to the ball and also likes to cut inside and do layoffs. The only HUGE difference I found in these 2 is that Mata’s crossing is just brilliant while Griezmann isn’t so good at that. If you are going to judge Griezmann on the basis of playing with him of FIFA14, you might not agree to that. Compared to Mata, Griezmann is very fast. He runs like Ramires, can control the ball like Hazard and has the vision of Drogba.
Griezmann was a target for Manchester United in 2010/11 season (not sure if it was in the summer or in January) but the young Frenchman signed a contract extension at Sociedad and his current contract expires at the end of the 2015/16 season. Arsenal, Real Madrid and AS Monaco are reportedly interested in the winger. There were also reports earlier this month that Arsenal made a £12m bid for him but nothing has developed ever since. Real Sociedad are expected to demand upto £24m for their priced assest because he is talented and has been scouted by 5 of Europe’s biggest clubs.
