This article forms part of our Valuation Evaluation feature series, which is where Chelsea247 takes a look at the increase or decrease of a player’s Transfermarkt valuation and whether it is justified or not.
Chelsea could turn to FC Porto’s Alex Telles in the summer to improve their left-back options, that is according to Portuguese newspaper Record (via Sport Witness).
Elsewhere, A Bola (via Daily Mail) reports that the Blues could sign the 27-year-old for as little as £21m as his club look to balance the books and avoid losing him on a free transfer. It remains to be seen whether Porto will accept that fee or hold out for his full release clause to be paid. But with Telles’ contract set to expire next summer, the former does seem possible, meaning that Chelsea could be about to get an absolute bargain.
According to Transfermarkt, his market valuation is actually £36m, £9m more than what it was last January — and that increase should not come as a surprise to anyone. Right now, Telles has to be one of the most exciting attacking full-backs in Europe. In Liga NOS, the Brazilian has scored eight goals, provided five assists and recorded some very good averages when it comes to attacking statistics like key passes made per game (via WhoScored).
In that department, Telles is averaging two, more than Marcos Alonso’s 1.5 and Emerson’s 1.4 at Chelsea. With 2.3 crosses per league match, the ex-Inter Milan player has also been making more successful crosses. Presently, Emerson is averaging 0.9 while Alonso is slightly behind with 0.8.
Of late, Alonso has reminded everyone that he is also no slouch in attack, netting three goals in his last two Premier League outings against Bournemouth and Tottenham. Still, having only just come back into the reckoning at Stamford Bridge (has not been a part of 11 Premier League matchday squads this term), the Spaniard does not seem to be a defender manager Frank Lampard has complete trust in.
Furthermore, a deal for Telles looks like a no-brainer. If the Blues’ transfer chief Marina Granovskaia can get this one over the line, and for just over £20m, then we could be looking at one of the deals of the summer.