Xabi Alonso will really appreciate what Wesley Fofana did in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Hull

When the Frenchman has played, his defending has not always been befitting of a £70m defender either.

Against Hull City, it was another difficult afternoon for Fofana and the rest of Chelsea’s defence. However, individually, Fofana was definitely one of the Blues’ better defenders in the match.

Wesley Fofana’s ball-carrying was exceptional against Hull

While Fofana’s defending was much better than Jorrel Hato’s and Malo Gusto’s, for example, what actually stood out was how he brought the ball out of the backline.

Dropped points against Hull… Does Xabi Alonso need to make some serious changes?

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Fofana is a big and powerful defender who is capable of going on bulldozing runs with the ball, and we saw that against Sergej Jakirovic’s side.

In total, Fofana made 33 carries and two progressive carries, as per Sofascore. His longest progressive carry spanned 36.7m, which is very impressive.

The 25-year-old also completed the one dribble he attempted, but it did look like more!

If Fofana can now combine that with dominant defending and stay fit, Chelsea will possess one of the best centre-halves in the Premier League.

When they bought him from Leicester in 2023, he was just that. Unfortunately, injuries and not playing in a settled defence seem to have impacted Fofana.

A fit and confident Fofana, however, can be a dominant centre-half. Alonso will like that and his ability on the ball. There is not a manager who would not.

Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Hull is more proof that Fofana and his teammates need to start defending better.

Of course, it is not as simple as that. Alonso has to look at the team’s defensive structure and how they defend as a unit.

Until then, Chelsea are going to be relying on Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers to blow other teams out of the water, which is just not a sustainable way to keep on winning matches.

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