With Rudiger's departure, Christensen and Azpilicueta will follow the German out of Stamford Bridge and Chelsea's summer transfer plan will be dominated by their quest for a new centre-back. It's ultimately up to the club to find a new boss, with Todd Boli now a potential candidate to succeed Abramovich as blues club president, but once the formalities are completed, the focus really turns to the team's investment. With the aforementioned three on the verge of leaving, without adding defenders, chelsea have only three centre-backs left in the squad – Thiago Silva, Chaloba and Marang Sal – for the 2022-23 season. The former, while in high profile in West London, turned 38 in September, and the latter appeared inadequate when it came to getting playing opportunities, especially at the heart of defence.
With that in mind, news of Comte's move to Chelsea is likely to be confirmed soon. The Frenchman had close ties to Tottenham's move last summer, but Conde turned down a move to Tottenham because he wanted to play in the Champions League. The trade that brought him to Chelsea later in the transfer window appeared to be going well, but Sevilla later raised the offer, ultimately leading to a failed transfer. Chelsea's quest for Comte has not been intimidated by the la Liga giants' asking price, and Comte remains the club's first choice as they prepare to reinvent the backline. The youngster has played a crucial role in helping Sevilla set the best defensive record in Spain's top league. In fact, Lopetegui's side conceded just 28 goals in 34 league games in the 2021-22 season. Sevilla spent €25 million to sign Conde from Bordeaux in 2019, but in his three years in Spain he has grown into one of the best centre-backs in the league. City have previously shown affection to the 23-year-old, but now it appears that his question is when and not whether to move to Chelsea.
Comte stands out most about the composure he exhibits at this age. While young people may be eager to show off their abilities and are prone to making reckless decisions in the process, Comte relies more on his sense of position to eliminate danger, using his body to drive away opponents only when they are truly needed. It is worth noting that he has averaged only 1.4 tackles per game in La Liga this season, averaged only 0.3 dribbling per game, and has a tackle success rate of 80%. Meanwhile, of the Sevilla players in Spain's top league this season, only Diego Carlos (3.6) has averaged more tackles per game than Conde (3.3). At the right time, Chelsea's prey often appeared in the right places, thus relieving the pressure on the defence. However, a key factor in Chelsea's interest in the defender is undoubtedly his passing. In La Liga this season, Comte has averaged seventh (68.9 passes per game) and 23rd (88.6%) in pass accuracy.
At Chelsea, the top five players in their average pass per game are all centre-backs, with Silva (86.9) at the top of the table. Meanwhile, the three players leading in the Blues' pass success rate are all centre-backs, with Silva once again topping the table (92.5%). Chelsea still have a lot of work to do to get Comte to reach his full potential, but playing by the veteran Brazilian's side will certainly help the France international take his game to the next level. Importantly, however, Comte is not to maintain possession, but to help Sevilla take the lead. The 721 forward passes are the fourth most numerous of Spain's top non-goalkeeper players this season, and 39.6% of his total passes will help improve the attacking performance of the Spanish team. Relative to Chelsea players, Azpilicueta (39%) is closest to Comte. Even so, considering that the experienced Spaniard is in a more frequent position at right-back or right-wing-back than at centre-back, that number is a bit biased.
Meanwhile, in this season's league season, Comte's total number of forward passes will be second only to Silva (775) and Rudiger (754), so his willingness to pass the ball to midfielders or full-backs will help the Blues seek to replace the latter. Even under pressure, Comte doesn't sway as some people do in his position. Another of his strengths is "focus," which is taken for granted. In 91 games in La Liga, Comte has not yet made the mistake that led to the opponent's goal, which fully demonstrates his psychological quality of not panicking when opponents try to press.
Comte's failed move to Chelsea last summer was due to Sevilla raising its offer late in the transfer to demand that the Blues pay for the £68.5 million termination clause he reported, when West London believed the deal was on the verge of closing. However, after another steady season at Sevilla, it looks like Sevilla can continue to play their wishful thinking, as they can now officially ask Chelsea to pay the full amount this summer, as premier league teams need a new centre-back in the process. Given Comte's good form in Spain, he deserves such a price.