Cuadrado’s arrival in the winter of the 2014/15 season was greeted, largely, in positive fashion among the club’s faithful. His transfer from Fiorentina saw Egyptian Mo’ Salah move in the opposite direction; and in an unrelated transfer — Andre Schurrle to Wolfsburg.
The Colombian was coming off the back of World Cup 2014, where he joined Germany’s Toni Kroos as the players with the most assists (four a piece). Blessed with bags of pace, his arrival was meant to bolster the Blues’ chance creation down the right flank where Willian, despite his perpetual work rate, was struggling.
It did not go to plan however, as Cuadrado struggled for form and ol’ fashioned good luck — in equal measure. He would go on to make 14 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea in the 2014/15 season, scoring no goals. He also failed to claim a single assist to his name.
Despite Chelsea going on to clinch the Premier League title that season, with no goals and no assists it was hard to describe Cuadrado’s time at Chelsea, albeit short, as anything other than a failure.
The Old Lady
With the 2015/16 season beckoning and Cuadrado’s Chelsea future in doubt, the timely arrival of a loan offer from Juventus was welcomed by all involved — not least the fans.
Back in the familiar environment of the Serie A, Cuadrado seemed to rediscover his former self. Going on to make 28 league appearances, scoring 4 times and assisting a further 5 goals for a Juventus side that went on to complete a domestic league and cup double.
Chelsea 2.0
The 2016/17 campaign is less than a fortnight away, Cuadrado is back at his parent club. However there is, if anything, less certainty about where (or if) he fits into don Antonio Conte’s plans.
“Cuadrado is Chelsea’s player. I like him.” — Antonio Conte
The official line is that he is a Chelsea player and a player that Conte was keen on when he managed Juventus. Needless to say, according to Conte, he is delighted to have him in the squad.
Tactically it’s hard to, and I don’t think possible, to accurately say where the Colombian speed merchant slots into Conte’s plans. However if Chelsea play the much-touted 3–5–2 variation synonymous with Conte teams, his pace will be a much needed asset and a potential key to unlocking defences on the counter.
One thing that can be said with greater certainty is that Juan Cuadrado is that Cuadrado struggled in the Premier League. All you need to do is take a look at the comparison matrix I created using the Squawka tool. It is plain as day to see that Cuadrado possesses undeniable creativity — and, perhaps, he just isn’t cut for the Premier League.
Let’s see how this plays out
Whilst the player is very suited to Antonio Conte’s tactics, it is still a realistic possibility that come transfer deadline day — he is not a Chelsea player.
It would appear AC Milan, managed by Vincenzo Montella (Cuadrado’s former Fiorentina manager), are exploring the possibility to secure the player’s services. The reported deal would see AC Milan loan him for the 2016/17 season for a fee of £8.5m and move to make the move permanent in the 2017/18 season for an additional £15m. When you consider the player arrived at Stamford Bridge for £24m, the £23.5m deal doesn’t seem too bad — especially considering his performances in a Chelsea shirt, or lack thereof.
Chelsea will play AC Milan this week, and I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity for a deal to be explored.
Whatever happens it is good to see Cuadrado back in training, putting in impressive performances on preseason duty and seemingly raring to go.
