If Chelsea merely bought Christian Pulisic because he’s American, as some opined a year ago, then how do they explain Chelsea’s interest in USMNT left-back Antonee Robinson?
Reports suggest Chelsea, like several clubs, have expressed interest in the young American international after his failed move to AC Milan last month.
Chelsea Look to Antonee Robinson to Solve Defensive Issues
Who Is Antonee Robinson?
Robinson is actually an England native, developing in the Everton youth system. However, he never made a senior appearance for the Toffees. He spent the 2017/18 season on loan with Bolton Wanderers in the Championship where he made his professional debut as a 20-year-old. For the 2018/19 season, he went to Wigan Athletic for another loan in the Championship. And before the start of this season, he moved to Wigan permanently on a three-year contract.
Robinson has spent his entire club career in England so far, yet chose to represent the United States at international level with roots to the US through his American father. The young left-back accepted call ups for both the USMNT U18s and U23s after earning the starting spot at Bolton in 2017 and 2018 and made his full senior debut before the 2018 World Cup, which the US did not qualify for.
Playing Style
Like many full-backs now, Robinson excels more in attack than defence. And with his pace, he becomes a nightmare on the left side for the opposition. The Latics player links up well with teammates when hitting on the counter-attack and can even 1-2 interchange bypass defenders.
In the attacking half, Robinson’s task is to send in crosses and create goal-scoring opportunities. If his pace is a positive attribute, his crossing is still in the neutral range, although improving every week.
Defensively, the American still has much to polish up on. His 1v1 defending leaves him behind far too often. Granted, his pace helps with recovery runs, but as he moves up in divisions with club and faces stiffer competition with the senior national team, his pace won’t be enough to bail him out.
Chelsea’s Interest
Chelsea’s poor defending this season had led to a plethora of dropped points. And during the January window, the west London club tried to bring in a left-back. Leicester pushed back at their attempts to buy Ben Chilwell. Porto were unwilling to part with Alex Telles, their left-back.
Blues manager Frank Lampard didn’t get the defensive help he wanted last month, therefore making it a necessity this summer. And Robinson is on the Blues’ radar.
At AC Milan, Robinson would’ve never really played, with Theo Hernandez far and away the superior of the two. But studying in Serie A, a notoriously defensive league, and finally, in a top-flight league, Milan certainly would’ve been a step up for the American.
However, the transfer fell through in the dying moments leaving Robinson playing the second half of the season at Wigan as opposed to riding the bench in Italy.
And because of that, Chelsea are ready to pounce. Maybe he’ll sell some jerseys for the club, as some wildly suggested was the sole reason for the club to buy Pulisic a year ago. However, if they do buy Robinson, the real reason is the intention of making the team better on the pitch. Just like with Pulisic.
Main Photo
