Watch him Jose: This energetic left-back could be the perfect successor to Ashley Cole

Ricardo Rodriguez

With club servant Ashley Cole nearing the end of his career, Chelsea will be scouring the globe for his successor at left-back and VfL Wolfsburg’s Ricardo Rodriguez could be an option.

Chelsea have long kept tabs on the Swiss international, with scouts watching him in action as early as last November according to the Daily Mirror.

With Ryan Bertrand the only back-up to Ashley Cole, the Blues would do well to consider recruiting a young left-back with plenty of potential, but could also start straight away.

Rodriguez has caught the eye of Chelsea’s extensive scouting network with some impressive performances for his club over the past season and a half.

The Swiss defender became a regular for the Bundesliga outfit last season, making 24 appearances and creating a name for himself as an excellent all-round defender.

Wolfsburg have benefited from his surging runs on the left flank, laying on 29 chances for his team-mates with five assists to his name, and that form has continued this season with two assists already.

Rodriguez’s key passes and assists in 2012/13.

But the full-back is not merely a winger playing in defence, proving his worth as a defender on many occasions.

Rodriguez is an extremely solid left-back in all respects, with a 88 per cent tackle success and a 65 per cent headed duel success rate so far this term.

Demonstrating his attacking prowess once more, he has recorded a 76 per cent success rate in beating his man, an average of 1.72 successful take ons per game.

Rodriguez’s duels for 2013/14

If Jose Mourinho is on the lookout for a new left-back in the January transfer window, they would do well to sign this 21-year-old and safeguard the position for the next five to ten years.