As they do every year, Chelsea made their fair share of signings in the summer.
Some of them have been hits, like Joao Pedro and Estevao – even if he was technically signed last year – but others have struggled, like Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap.
Then there are a few who sit somewhere in between, like Alejandro Garnacho, who hasn’t lit the world alight, but has popped up with goal involvements here and there.
Unfortunately for the Argentine, that might not be enough to save his place in the team, as reports are now linking Chelsea to someone who’d be a massive upgrade.
Chelsea target Garnacho upgrade
It might be around a month and a half until the transfer window officially opens, but that hasn’t stopped the reports linking Chelsea to a number of talented Premier League stars.
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For example, despite being well stacked in the middle of the park, the Blues have been linked with both Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton in recent days.
Now, both of them would undoubtedly improve Enzo Maresca’s squad, but they certainly cannot be described as Garnacho upgrades, unlike Antoine Semenyo.
Yes, according to a recent report from Spain, Chelsea are interested in signing the Bournemouth star.
However, they are not the only ones, as the report also claims that the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool are also all vying for the Ghanaian’s signature.
Fortunately, even though the competition is far from ideal, another story from The Athletic has revealed that the Cherries star has a £65m release clause in his new contract, which will be active for part of January.
It will be a complicated transfer to get done, but given Semenyo’s immense game-changing ability, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he would be an upgrade on Garnacho.
How Semenyo compares to Garnacho
As Chelsea have lofty ambitions of challenging on all fronts in the coming season, the best place to start when comparing Garnacho to Semenyo is their ability to score or assist goals.
Unfortunately for the former Manchester United ace, doing this makes it quite clear that he is second best when it comes to output.
For example, so far this season, he has scored twice and provided two assists in ten appearances, which comes out to a goal involvement every 2.5 games.
The Bournemouth star, on the other hand, has scored six goals and provided three assists in 12 appearances, which translates to a far better average of a goal or assist every 1.33 games.
Even last season, the Ghanaian international came out ahead as, in 42 games, he scored 13 goals and provided seven assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 2.1 games.
In contrast, the Blues’ new winger produced 21 goal involvements in 58 appearances, which comes out to a less impressive average of one every 2.76.
The bad news for the Madrid-born ace is that he also comes out as a clear second best when you take a look under the hood and compare their underlying numbers.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals
0.28
0.22
Progressive Passes
3.55
1.32
Shots on Target
1.09
1.05
Passing Accuracy
69.4%
77.3%
Shot-Creating Actions
3.28
3.15
Goal-Creating Actions
0.64
0.79
Tackles
1.64
1.32
Successful Take-Ons
1.91
1.32
Ball Recoveries
5.27
2.89
Aerial Duels Won
2.36
0.26
For example, while he’s not ahead in every metric, he performs better in the majority of them, including some key ones, such as non-penalty expected goals, progressive passes, shots on target, successful take-ons, and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, with all this in mind, it is clear that the Cherries ace is a better player than the West Londoners summer signing, and that Chris Waddle might not be too far off the mark with his claim that he’s currently “the best winger in the country.”
Therefore, while it won’t be easy, Chelsea should do all they can to sign Semenyo in January, as he’s an exceptional player and a clear upgrade on Garnacho.
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