A year is certainly a long time in football. Right now, we’d guess the reputation of most Chelsea players has only gone downhill based off the last 12 months.
There’s obviously a few exceptions in the Blues squad who’ve emerged in the last year, especially Cole Palmer. The 21-year-old attacker has gone from the Manchester City bench to the poster boy at Chelsea.
However, Chelsea’s mediocrity on the pitch is accompanied by some below par individual performances.
There’s one Blues man who’s definitely been on the decline in the last 12 months.
£35m Chelsea player has nightmare year
Benoit Badiaishile, who joined Chelsea in a £35 million deal (Sky Sports) from Monaco in the January window of 2023, has been a real mixed bag so far.
At the start of his Blues career, the young French centre-back slotted effortlessly into the side and looked the part as a towering ball-playing defender. It led to a lot of praise and excitement about his potential.
However, if you fast-forward to now the 23-year-old is receiving criticism from fans and pundits on a frequent basis.
Speaking via talkSPORT a couple of days ago, Andy Jacobs ripped into Badiashile after his cameo performance in the weekend’s 2-2 league draw versus Sheffield United.
The left-footed centre-half has looked incredibly vulnerable and uneasy in his 15 Chelsea appearances this season, where he’s a shadow of the player that first turned up at Stamford Bridge.
You have to factor in that he’s had several different injuries in the last year. There’s no doubt that’s halted any momentum and knocked him a bit.
At the age of 23, he’s time to get back on track and rediscover the potential that’s previously been lauded.
What Micah Richards said about Benoit Badiashile 12 months ago
Speaking back in Apriil last year, pundit Micah Richards did label Chelsea’s Badiashile as one of the best youngsters around in his position.
Richards told theBBC’s The Monday Night Club: “Badiashile is one of the brightest young talents there is in world football and he’s playing very well.”
Badiashile looks miles off the top level and his immediate focus should be on playing for his Chelsea future.
One area we’d love him to improve is his aerial duals. FotMob data records Badiashile has just a 54.5% success rate in aerial duals this season in the Premier League.