Why one of Chelsea’s best-ever bargains belongs in the Premier League Hall of Fame
Chelsea have made some of the most expensive signings in Premier League history, including Morgan Rogers during the summer.
Chelsea paid Aston Villa £117m to sign Rogers, making the attacking midfielder their record transfer. In the past, they have also spent more than £100m twice on Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
At the same time, though, the Blues have also been able to find bargains in the market. And Cesar Azpilicueta may just be the biggest.
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Cesar Azpilicueta was the definition of versatility
Right now, Chelsea have several representatives in the Premier League’s official Hall of Fame: Eden Hazard, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. One day, it would not be a surprise to see Azpilicueta join that list. He deserves to be there.
One reason why you can put Azpilicueta among the Premier League greats is because he was an exceptional player in THREE different positions.
- The traditional right-back: In his early days at Stamford Bridge, Azpilicueta played in his natural right-back position, providing elite defensive solidity and attacking threat when going forward.
- The unorthodox left-back: Under Jose Mourinho, the right-footed Spaniard eventually displaced the legendary Ashley Cole on the left side of defence, winning the 2014/15 Premier League title. In that position, it was clear to see that Azpilicueta was one of the best one-v-one defenders in England.
- The right-sided centre-back: When Antonio Conte switched to a 3-4-3 system in 2016, Azpilicueta transitioned into a central defensive role. His positional intelligence and reading of the game and ability to act on it made him one of the best central defenders in Europe that season despite that not even being his natural position.
For £7m, we truly are talking about one of the greatest signings in Premier League history.
The Hall of Fame Omission
For now, Azpilicueta is not in the Premier League Hall of Fame, which is understandable. It was only launched in 2021 and many of the current inductees probably do deserve to be there over the 37-year-old.
With that being said, it is a surprise that his name is not mentioned in casual conversations about the greatest defenders in Premier League history. Names like Cole, Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Virgil van Dijk are brought up, but Azpilicueta is definitely up there in terms of defensive ability, longevity and honours won.
At Chelsea, Azpilicueta made over 500 appearances. He won two Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy. Ultimately, his success in the Premier League, both individually and collectively, makes him a future Hall of Famer.
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