Chelsea have confirmed on their official website the signing of Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid on a season-long loan deal. It has been revealed that the Spanish midfield ace sealed a loan move to Stamford Bridge on the transfer deadline day with the Blues having the option to sign him permanently at the end of this campaign.
Saul’s Solid Campaign At The Spanish Capital
The Elche-born playmaker had a successful time with the Madrid giants when he managed to help them lift the La Liga title on the final day of the last campaign. The 26-year-old scored two goals and secured one assist in 41 matches for Diego Simeone’s team last season on all fronts.
Saul contributed in a lot of little ways for Atletico at both ends of the field after he averaged 1.7 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, 0.9 clearances, 1.0 shots, 0.7 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game in the last Spanish top-flight campaign. He was even accurate when distributing possession in the opponent’s half based on his pass completion rate of 84.4% in league football (stats via whoscored).
The talented midfielder was often been used as a utility player by Simeone last season because of his versatility to play as a box to box midfielder or fill in as a wide player down the left flank if needed. Hence, Saul could turn out to be a good loan acquisition for Chelsea as he will enhance their squad depth considerably in the remainder of this campaign.
What Will Saul Add To Thomas Tuchel’s Team?
Saul can play a wide range of passes from midfield and is proficient at keeping possession moving effortlessly at the centre of the park. He has a good football IQ and can make some solid tackles to hamper the opponent’s rhythm in the game.
The Spain international usually clears the danger when the opposition are on the offensive and can strike the ball with power from outside the penalty box. He has even got the vision to engineer some inviting goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates in the final third.
Therefore, the Blues deserve credit for sealing a season-long loan move for Saul. Furthermore, they have the option to bring him to Stamford Bridge permanently next summer if he can prove his worth in English football this season.
We can expect Saul to add a lot of quality to Chelsea’s midfield and offer some much-needed competition for Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic for a spot in Tuchel’s midfield over the next ten months. At 26, the Spaniard is about to enter his prime, so the West London giants can expect to get the best out of Saul if they are willing to play him regularly during the course of this campaign.
