Presnel Kimpembe.

The right Rüdiger replacement?

Rüdiger leaving on a free was a massive blow for Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea. Todd Boehly needs to buy a replacement for Rudiger, who is similar in profile. Kimpembe could be the one.

First, let’s see what type of CB profile is needed for Tuchel’s Philosophy.

Tuchel likes to build up with a 3–2 base in possession to launch attacks. Centre Backs need to be:

Instinctual movement to create passing angles

Press Resistant

Good vertical passer

Must have the pace to recover and cover ground on the flanks when the Wingbacks push up high

Explained by @RyanGunness on twitter, follow him for Chelsea tactical analysis threads.

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Here is how Kimpembe compares with Rüdiger based on last season.

Kimpempe is better in the air, completing passes and intercepting. He also gets dribbled past less than Rüdiger.

Both of them play the LCB role. Kimpembe plays LCB in a back 4 while Rüdiger plays in a back 3.

Kimpembe has improved defensively over the years. He makes very few errors and only committed just three errors leading to an opposition goal in 152 career league appearances. He has decreased the number of times the opposition can dribble past him.

In the last 2 seasons, he’s had more interceptions than tackles won per90; this indicates that his reading of the game has improved, and he can step out of defence with ease and intercept balls to stop the opposition rather than having to make a tackle to win the ball.

His Aerial Win rate has improved over the years. At 71% last season, he is dominant in the air. To compare, Virgil Van Dijk had an aerial win rate of 77% last season and Rudiger 69%.

During his time under Tuchel, he was more aggressive in winning the ball back by attempting more pressures per90 and had a good success rate under Tuchel than any other manager. Last season, under Poch, his pressures declined quite a bit due to the different style of Poch to be more conservative.

There are doubts about Kimpembe’s concentration sometimes. He can switch off and be unaware of his surroundings. Fortunately for him, he does have the recovery speed to ensure he gets rarely punished. Kimpembe has clocked a top speed of 20.13 mph. For reference, Rüdiger clocked a top speed of 21.88mph.

Playing alongside Silva to sweep after him in a back 3 can help protect him while he works on that weakness.

Kimpembe ranks highly in the upper right quadrant amongst other Left-Footed CBs. He is an Aerially Dominant CB who is also good a progressing the ball forward.

Plot by @nufcsansaj on Twitter.

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Rüdiger’s ball progression map is insane and will definitely be a big miss for us, but maybe Tuchel can help that part of Kimpembe’s game like he did with Rüdiger.

Kimpembe might have a better aerial win rate, but he doesn’t engage in many aerial duels compared to Rüdiger.

The Duels Map shows that Kimpembe engaged in fewer duels than Rüdiger last season. However, he has fewer duels lost (12), leading to an opponent shot. Rüdiger lost 17 duels which led to an opponent shot where one of them led to an actual goal.

Kimpembe is one of the best passers from the back. He had the best pass completion rate of 95.5% last season compared to all other players in Europes Top 5 Leagues. He also has been improving on the number of progressive passes made per90 over the years.

Since 17/18, Kimpembe also never ranked below 4th in pass completion in the Ligue 1. The same applies for europes top 5 league except for 18/19.

Presnel Kimpembe has also only misplaced 537 of 10,405 attempted passes over eight seasons as a Paris Saint-Germain player. A pass success rate of 94.8% in that time.

To compare, last season, Rudiger’s total pass completion was 88.4%.

Short Cmp — 94.1%

Medium Cmp — 94.0%

Long Cmp — 70.6%

Kimpembe is by far the better long passer.

Furthermore, having a left-footer play the LCB position allows for different passing angles during the build-up phase. A left-footer can open their body and curl the ball out and in when making a pass.

Rüdiger is a right footer that was playing on the left, this at times stuttered our rhythm, especially when trying to play out from a press because a right footer will be passing it diagonally on the inside of the flank, open to being intercepted.

Kimpembe ranks in the upper right quadrant where both his passes and carries when progressing the ball are good and dangerous for the opponent. He ranks similar with Rudiger for his carries but Rudiger bit slightly a more dangerous passer.

Final Thoughts…

With significant changes to the backline for next season, it’s crucial that the back 3 or 2, depending on what Tuchel decides to do, can quickly hit the ground running, so the defence is well organised for the upcoming season.

Kimpembe is an experienced player, a main starter and vice-captain for PSG. The French International has won many trophies, such as the World Cup, and will undoubtedly add more to his collection with Chelsea. He brings that winning mentality, leadership and the bonus of having already played under Tuchel and alongside Silva. He should have no trouble settling in.

A back 3 of Kimpembe — Silva — Koulibaly would be a very commanding backline that can distribute the ball well and be dominant in their ground and aerial duels. Kimpembe and Koulibaly are aggressive and have the legs to cover the flanks, while Silva is a bit more conservative to be the sweeper covering the central area. Good Balance.

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