Chalobah in Red?
Welcome back to Rating the Rumour, which does exactly what it says on the tin. We’ll be taking the biggest transfer rumours related to Premier League teams and rating the likelihood of the moves coming to fruition.
The final rating will be decided based on the potential fit of the player into the rumoured buying club, the need for that club to sign a player for the position played, whether the player is of the level required by the club, whether the club could afford the rumoured price and whether or not the player is even likely to be available for transfer.
We will not factor in the reliability of the rumour, as it would likely cause mass amounts of crying from outlets, journalists and “journalists” who would have to be denounced as spoofers.
With the ground rules laid out, let’s look at Trevoh Chalobah to Manchester United which was reported by Teamtalk recently.
Fit
Chalobah is a versatile player who can play multiple positions and fit seamlessly into pretty much any system and shape so he would make sense for a Manchester United team that needs a lot of help in a number of departments.
Chalobah is adept in a back four as either a right back or central defender and is also comfortable in a back three. There’s an argument to be made that his best position is actually defensive midfield, a position in which he excelled during loan spells at Ipswich and Huddersfield.
Comfortable and underrated on the ball, Chalobah would represent an upgrade on a couple of United’s current starters in terms of his ability to progress the ball from deep which might allow Ten Hag to revert back to the brand of football he was hired to implement.
Fit Rating – 2/2
Need
Manchester United need help in almost every position. It’s a remarkable thing that a club who have spent so much money over the past seven years can be this lacking in almost every department.
There’s a strong argument to be made that none of Ten Hag’s signings, all 16 of them, can truly be classified as a successful signing at this point in time.
Chalobah could start in central defence or in midfield for United, potentially as the successor to the rapidly ageing Casemiro.
Need Rating – 2/2
Level
This is where the questions arise with Chalobah. He’s clearly a good player, but how good? Thomas Tuchel loved him, Graham Potter was a fan, but Mauricio Pochettino is not keen on him. Is he good enough to be a long-term regular starter for a Champions League calibre team? As things stand we don’t yet know.
The only way to find out will be for him to secure a move that ensures him a regular starting spot. That’s where the risk comes in. There’s no doubt Chalobah could play for a long time in the Premier League but for the elite teams? It’s a risk. It’s an especially big risk for a club like United which has not offered a haven for player development in recent years.
Level Rating – 1/2
Affordability
Chelsea are reportedly asking for a fee in the region of £40mil for Chalobah, and that seems high. For a 24-year-old uncapped player with only two years of top-flight experience, that price does seem a little ambitious by the Blues.
Chelsea are attempting to maximise profit here, as Chalobah is an academy product and therefore the fee received for him will represent pure profit as they try to balance their books following Todd Boehly’s unhinged and aimless spending spree over the past 15 months.
If Chelsea are willing to come down to a more reasonable £25-30mil that would represent better value, but then again this is Manchester United who have a reputation for posturing and then simply paying the asking price when push comes to shove.
The real question here is can the Glazers fund this deal? They’ve borrowed significantly in recent months just to pay for the running of the club after yet another summer of heavy spending.
Affordability Rating 1/2
For Sale?
There’s no question that Chalobah is for sale. He almost joined Bayern Munich in the summer, before Bayern ran out of time to get deals done and had to throw all efforts into the ultimately unsuccessful chase for Joao Palhinha.
Pochettino doesn’t want to use Chalobah, Chelsea have a plethora of other young central defenders and the player doesn’t want to waste his career as a bit-part player.
Availability Rating – 2/2
Final Rating
This seems like a sensible rumour. The player would solve some major issues for United, he’s clearly available for sale and United have a track record of spending significant sums of money on players.
Overall, we rate this rumour as an 8/10. It’s a transfer that would make sense for all three parties.
But will the Glazers financial issues, and United’s ownership situation with Jim Ratcliffe, cause the club to keep their powder dry in January? That may be the stumbling block.
