After
the £97.5m signing of Romelu Lukaku and their battling performance against
Liverpool at Anfield prior to the international break, European champions
Chelsea further enhanced their title credentials with the Deadline Day
signing of Saul Niguez.
"Just another excellent player," is how Gary Neville described him in the
wake of his arrival from Atletico Madrid. Saul, whose season-long loan deal
contains a £30m option to buy next summer, brings "massive experience" to a
squad already full of it.
"He fits the Chelsea profile of signing players who are ready," added the
Sky Sports pundit.
Saul's pedigree is indisputable. At 26, he arrives at Stamford Bridge having
already amassed 340 appearances for Atletico and won 19 caps for Spain. The
"massive experience" Neville mentioned includes trophy wins both
domestically and in Europe.
The most recent came just a few months ago, when he helped Atletico claim La
Liga glory, but it was time for a change.
Diego Simeone once said Saul had "all the qualities to be one of the world's
best midfielders" but his standing had slipped at the Wanda Metropolitano
Stadium in recent years.
In his introductory interview as a Chelsea player, Saul described himself as
a "team player" first and foremost. His selflessness is an admirable trait
but it has not always helped him on a personal level.
He broke into the Atletico team as an all-action central midfielder during
the 2014/15 campaign and went on to keep his place there for several
seasons. But even before that, he had demonstrated an ability - and
willingness - to play in different positions.
Indeed, during the 2013/14 season on loan with Rayo Vallecano, his first at
La Liga level, he split his time between midfield and central defence. Over
the years back at Atletico, he began to be used everywhere from left-back to
right wing.
His versatility was an undoubted asset to Simeone but it prevented Saul from
flourishing in his favoured role.
Instead, he was moved around to accommodate others.
Last season, he found himself behind his former academy team-mate Koke,
Marcos Llorente and even the previously out-of-favour Thomas Lemar in the
midfield pecking order.
The subsequent arrival of Rodrigo de Paul for £30m from Udinese further
increased the competition for places in Simeone's midfield.
Saul did start their first two La Liga games of the season, against Celta
Vigo and Elche, but both times at left wing-back.
In typically selfless style, Saul did what was asked of him with total
dedication in those games, even providing the assist for Angel Correa's
decisive goal in the 2-1 win over Celta.
Now, though, he hopes to return to a central position at Chelsea. Leaving
Atletico was "hard", he added last week, "but it was a great opportunity for
me and for my career and I had to take the chance."
'An excellent signing for Chelsea'
Spanish football expert Terry Gibson:
“I wouldn’t say his form has suffered in recent years, but his reputation
has, because he’s been playing here, there and everywhere, which has seen
him left out of the Spain squad.
“I’ve always thought at the age of 26, he should be nailed on to be in that
squad. But if Chelsea use him in midfield, which I expect them to do, I
still feel the best is yet to come.
“He’s dynamic, he gets forward, he can score goals, he puts his foot in, he
works hard. He has all the traits you need to play for Simeone and I think
he’s an excellent signing for Chelsea.
“I genuinely feel he is as good as it comes in central midfield. I’m
surprised the signing took so long because as soon as he was available, and
he has been throughout the summer, I thought someone would go and snap him
up straight away.”
Saul went into more detail about the move to Chelsea in a separate interview
with Ibai Llanos, a popular eSports personality in Spain. In it, he revealed
Thomas Tuchel had offered him reassurance that he intends to use him in
midfield.
"That is the most important reason for my decision," said Saul. "The three
midfielders who are playing are at a high level and it will not be easy to
start, but if I put my mind to it and fight it, I can do it."
Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic all bring different qualities to
Tuchel's midfield.
Jorginho is a metronomic passer who dictates the play and orchestrates
attacks; Kante is a tireless runner who offers outstanding defensive
coverage; Kovacic is a powerful ball-carrier who excels in one-on-one
situations.
Saul, though, offers a bit of everything. Sergio Busquets, who has partnered
him in Spain's midfield on numerous occasions at international level,
describes him as a "very complete player". Luis Enrique, Spain's manager,
has used the same term.
Neville, meanwhile, expects him to strengthen Chelsea "enormously". "In
midfield, with Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, they already look
really strong," he said.
"The addition of Saul makes the stronger and stronger. You only need two in
there with the way they play, but Saul's addition means they can challenge
on all fronts."
Saul describes himself as a "box-to-box midfielder" who likes "joining the
attack and scoring goals" but Tuchel will value his defensive qualities just
as highly as his attacking ones.
Playing under Simeone demands a willingness to "suffer" out of possession
and Saul excels in that regard. He is tactically intelligent and defensively
diligent. Even last season, he averaged more tackles per 90 minutes (2.5)
than any other Atletico player.
Saul has a history of impressing in big games too. One of his first goals
for Atletico was a stunning overhead kick in a 4-0 thrashing of bitter
rivals Real Madrid in 2015. He was only 20 at the time but soon developed a
habit of shining in the Champions League too.
When Atletico famously overcame Liverpool in the last-16 stage of the
competition in 2020, Saul scored the winner in the first leg - becoming only
the second Atletico player to reach 10 Champions League goals after Antoine
Griezmann - before producing an outstanding defensive display in the second,
winning 10 of his 11 aerial duels at Anfield and highlighting another of his
best attributes.
Indeed, Saul's aerial ability is just another factor behind Tuchel's
decision to take him to Stamford Bridge - and it is just another area in
which he will strengthen them. Chelsea's title credentials already looked
compelling. Now even more so.
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