Comparing Josko Gvardiol’s 2021-22 stats to Chelsea’s centre-backs

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Nathan Egerton
1st August 2022

After missing out on Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt, Chelsea have reportedly turned their attention to RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol.

Chelsea have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly this summer but they still need another centre-back following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Gvardiol, who is under contract at Leipzig until 2026, is widely regarded as one of the best young talents in Europe.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims that Chelsea are currently looking at the Croatia international and Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana but the former is the priority.

“Gvardiol is one of the top names on [Chelsea’s] list – Thomas Tuchel is in love with this player,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

“Let me say that he’s option number one in the list, but as of today, the situation on Leipzig’s side is still the same – they have no intention at all to sell Gvardiol this summer. So, it is going to be more than complicated.”

The Italian reporter also revealed that Chelsea tried to propose a potential swap deal for Gvardiol, offering Timo Werner’s service on loan as a part of the deal. While Leipzig would like to Bring Werner back to the club, they are still trying to keep the centre-back.

We’ve taken a look at how Gvardiol’s stats in the Bundesliga last season stack up against the corresponding Premier League output of Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah as well as Koulibaly’s Serie A stats.

Note: despite the fact that they’ve both left Chelsea, we’ve also included Rudiger and Christensen’s Premier League stats for context.

Successful tackles per 90 minutes (success rate)
Trevoh Chalobah – 2.5 (86.2%)
Malang Sarr – 2.3 (74.2%)
Josko Gvardiol – 1.8 (75%)
Kalidou Koulibaly – 1.5 (78.9%)
Antonio Rudiger – 1.4 (74.2%)
Thiago Silva – 1.1 (73.3%)
Andreas Christensen – 0.8 (80%)

Successful aerial duels per 90 minutes (success rate)
Andreas Christensen – 2.9 (54.7%)
Malang Sarr – 2.1 (63.6%)
Josko Gvardiol – 2.0 (60.6%)
Trevoh Chalobah – 2.0 (52.6%)
Thiago Silva – 1.9 (63.3%)
Kalidou Koulibaly – 1.8 (54.5%)
Antonio Rudiger – 1.7 (73.9%)

Chelsea made a new attempt to sign Josko Gvardiol in a swap deal with Werner on loan, but RB Leipzig have still no intention to sell him. More possibilities will be discussed. 🔵 #CFC

Fofana, top target but Leicester want to keep him.

Pavard, backup option as reported days ago.

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 31, 2022

Interceptions per 90 minutes
Josko Gvardiol – 1.9
Malang Sarr – 1.8
Andreas Christensen – 1.7
Thiago Silva – 1.5
Trevoh Chalobah – 1.2
Kalidou Koulibaly – 1.1
Antonio Rudiger – 0.8

Fouls per 90 minutes
Thiago Silva – 0.4
Andreas Christensen – 0.7
Antonio Rudiger – 1.0
Kalidou Koulibaly – 1.0
Trevoh Chalobah – 1.2
Malang Sarr – 1.3
Josko Gvardiol – 1.5

READ: Ranking every centre-back to play for Chelsea since John Terry left

Clearances per 90 minutes
Thiago Silva – 3.2
Malang Sarr – 3.1
Kalidou Koulibaly – 3.1
Andreas Christensen – 3.1
Antonio Rudiger – 2.6
Trevoh Chalobah – 2.6
Josko Gvardiol – 2.1

Passing accuracy
Thiago Silva – 92.8%
Trevoh Chalobah – 90.6%
Andreas Christensen – 90%
Malang Sarr – 88.2%
Antonio Rudiger – 88.1%
Kalidou Koulibaly – 86.9%
Josko Gvardiol – 84%

Josko Gvardiol:
Pass to Angelino ❌
Pass to Szoboszlai ❌
Back pass to Adams ❌
Through pass to Nkunku ✅

Ball playing defender at its best. The vision is 💯pic.twitter.com/MgAIDQJmWx

— Savage Football (@SavageFootballl) November 9, 2021

Passes per 90 minutes
Thiago Silva – 89
Andreas Christensen – 79.5
Trevoh Chalobah – 78.8
Malang Sarr – 77
Josko Gvardiol – 76.4
Antonio Rudiger – 74
Kalidou Koulibaly – 61.4

Goals
Kalidou Koulibaly – 3
Antonio Rudiger – 3
Thiago Silva – 3
Trevoh Chalobah – 3
Josko Gvardiol – 2
Malang Sarr – 0
Andreas Christensen – 0