In deadline day madness, Chelsea have signed Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez on a loan deal. The Spaniard joins the Premier League side on a season-long loan with an option to buy at the end.
Chelsea will pay €4m as the loan fee and can make the move permanent by paying €35m at the end of the season. The future of Saul has been under question over the past year, with the player linked with many top clubs.
Saul becomes the final player to join Thomas Tuchel’s side this summer as they will look to challenge for titles in all front. The other signing for Chelsea was Romelu Lukaku, who the European Champions brought from Inter Milan.
SAUL TO ADD DEPTH TO CHELSEA MIDFIELD
The Spaniard has been a regular part of Atletico Madrid, after coming through their youth ranks. He has appeared 340 times for Atleti senior team, scoring 43 goals. Saul has won two Europa League, one Copa del Rey, one Spanish and one UEFA Super Cups along with the recent La Liga title.
A very mobile and industrious player, Saul is also good a holding on possession. He gives excellent defensive contribution to the team and often likes to tackles. An aerial threat, the 26-year-old also makes attacking runs to the box, giving more depth to the Chelsea midfield.
For Chelsea, Saul will provide strength to their already strong squad. Saul likes to play in the central midfield position, while is also comfortable playing in a deeper defensive role. Currently, the Chelsea squad have the likes of Ngolo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in their midfield alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley. However, boss Thomas Tuchel is not a fan of Barkey and Loftus-Cheek, which means that the club is reliant on the other three.
Kante has been prone to injuries in the last few seasons, while Jorginho is not that mobile. Thus Saul will help to address these issues and help the team in case of any injuries. Chelsea had to fight competition from their rivals Manchester United, who were interested in the Spaniard. The player will have a chance to make his debut when the Premier League side is back in action on the 11th of September after the international break.
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