It hasn't been the most enjoyable season to be a Chelsea fan this year; there can be no doubt about that.
Mauricio Pochettino has struggled to build a cohesive team out of the mass of promising youngsters handed to him by Todd Boehly and Co, and some of his senior players have been less than impressive.
However, there have been some bright spots that fans can celebrate, including the emergence of an incredibly talented youngster whose valuation has soared to double that of Ben Chilwell.
Ben Chilwell's transfer valuation in 2024
Chilwell completed his £50m move to Chelsea from Leicester City in August 2020 after impressing at the King Power for around three and a half seasons.
The Milton Keynes-born ace had a brilliant first year at Stamford Bridge, scoring four goals and providing seven assists in 42 appearances. He also played a significant role in the team's second Champions League triumph, starting nine of the 13 games in the competition, including the final.
2020/21
42
7
11
2021/22
13
45
4
2022/23
30
20
5
2023/24
19
19
1
Total
104
91
21
However, his second season in west London was something of a disaster, as he made just 13 appearances due to a cruciate ligament tear that kept him sidelined for 178 days.
The following year was a little better, with him playing 30 games for the Blues, but two hamstring injuries saw him miss 20 games, and this year, he has already missed 19 through three more injuries: another hamstring problem, fitness issues, and a knee issue.
In all, the 27-year-old has played just 104 games for the Pensioners over the last four campaigns, or 26 per season on average, which is hardly value for money.
These consistent injury problems have seen Chilwell's valuation tumble, with the CIES Football Observatory valuing the Englishman at just €15m, which is about £13m, or a whopping £37m less than Chelsea paid for his services.
While this is far from ideal for the Blues, one positive is that one of the club's up-and-coming defenders has seen his valuation soar past Chilwell's in recent months.
Malo Gusto's transfer valuation in 2024
The up-and-comer in question is dynamic right-back Malo Gusto, who signed for Chelsea from Lyon last January in a £26m deal that saw him remain with the French giants for the latter half of last season.
At the time, fans and pundits alike weren't overly enthralled by the signing for two reasons. Firstly, with just one full season under his belt at that point, he wasn't very well known to English football fans, and secondly, he was seen as just a backup to Reece James.
Appearances
61
29
Goals
0
0
Assists
6
9
Goal Involvements per Match
0.09
0.31
The "outstanding" ace, as journalist Ben Jacobs described him, has been able to tackle both of those barriers in less than one season of football at the Bridge.
With club captain James missing a significant period of the campaign – as he tends to do – the Frenchman has been given an extended run of starts under Pochettino, and while there have been the odd poor performances here and there – at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers springs to mind – he has, by and large, been excellent.
In his 29 games for the Blues this year, he has provided nine assists, five of which have come in just 20 Premier League games. He's won fans and pundits over so emphatically that there is a genuine discussion about who should start once James is fit again.
This run of brilliant form has also seen the 20-year-old's valuation quickly climb, and as things stand, the CIES Football Observatory currently values him at around €30m, around £26m, or double Chilwell's valuation.
Chelsea must rue selling a talent who's now worth more than James
The talented star has been brilliant since leaving West London.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMar 13, 2024
Ultimately, while Chelsea have been quite unlucky with the injury record of their £50m left-back, they appear to have hit the jackpot with their young right-back, and considering his age, they could have a genuinely excellent player on their hands for the best part of a decade in Gusto.
