Premier League champions Chelsea FC are reportedly leading the race to sign Bundesliga side Augsburg’s defender Baba Rahaman. The 21-year-old Ghana international is being chased by several top clubs which include Arsenal and Manchester City, but ESPN sources confirm that Chelsea are apparently the front runners to land the player in Premier League this summer.
Augsburg finished fifth last season in the Bundesliga and the credit must go to this youngster who had a fantastic season with the club. Last month Augsburg President Klaus Hofmann had confirmed in the German media: We are a very healthy club. Baba is one of the biggest talents in the world. Nobody needs to call us and offer €20m.”
The club’s Sporting Director Stefan Reuter had also mentioned earlier this week that they have not recieved any transfer offers. He was quoted: “There is nothing new. We are not in contact. There have been no concrete offers for him. It does not concern us at the moment. We are totally relaxed.
“We want to keep our sporting potential at Augsburg, but if extreme sums are offered we will think about it. That’s normal but it does not necessarily mean we will sell him.”
Though the club authorities have clearly stated that they are not ready to let go their one of the finest talents, it believed that the club might finally succumb to growing interest of the top European clubs.
Chelsea are looing for a quality defender. It was reported few days back that the club might release Felipe Luis this summer. Luis had joined the club last season from Atletico but struggled to cement his place in the squad.
Baba Rahman can be utilised in all the positions in the backline. He is a versatile player and extremely talented.
Let’s have a look at the Ghanaian’s stats for the last season and compare them with the Chelsea defenders:
The young defender played 31 league games for Augsburg. From the above stats we can make out that he had a fantastic outing with the German side. Now if we compare his stats with the other center backs of Chelsea, he is way ahead of another young French defender Kurt Zouma who hardly got game time. John Terry has outclassed Baba in clearances and blocks section by a little margin. Similarly Gary Cahill also was better in clearnces and blocks departments. Rest Baba is ahead of Cahill.
The defender will be a great buy for the Blues. Jose Mourinho would guide the player and he will grow under him and Premier League experience will be ideal for his career growth.