Chelsea are considering whether to make a u-turn on keeping Saul Niguez at the club, according to reports in the English media
While the Spanish international was only a substitute against Newcastle yesterday, he has featured more prominently in recent games, and it has led to some speculation that Niguez could stay beyond his loan spell at the end of the season if a change of ownership happens before then. Supporters on Twitter are divided on the subject:
He’s improving game in game out tho
— Sammy (@mabdavies) March 13, 2022
What’s there to consider. He should go back to Atleti pls
— Adeoye Oyewole (@goldfingar007) March 13, 2022
Still not good enough not to mention he will cost 40 mil
— 🇦🇱 (@freeSKoCFC) March 12, 2022
His experience in the game matters a lot at such time my opinion
— Law ⭐️⭐️ (@lordlaw7) March 12, 2022
Yeah
But not for 40m— Al-Chelsea blue Governor24💙 (@24Governor) March 12, 2022
We need to pin Saul down like we did with Kova. He is improving day by day
— Colchaboy (@colchaboy) March 13, 2022
Is Saul better than Barkley? Ampadu? Gilmour? Anjorin? Kennedy? vale? Callagher? ….don’t waste money on what is not improvement.
— DAVID WACHIRA (@davewac86) March 13, 2022
But he is already settling down. He has also proven to be a utility player with the ability to play in so many different positions in the defense and midfield.
— 🇳🇬 N4L and CFC💙 (@Ojobi_Mark) March 13, 2022
Bring Gallagher, Gilmour,ampadu back .
Plus the fact we have kante,kovacic ,RLC and so on before ,trust me we’ll be fine— Cfc Cleverley𓃵 (@Cleverleythur0) March 13, 2022
Niguez has undoubtedly shown some better form recently but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Blues should trigger their option to buy the 27-year-old in the summer.
Without getting into the ownership questions and whether the club will be in the position to sign the Spaniard, there are other important reasons why a permanent deal doesn’t make any sense.
Both Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher will be returning to the club ahead of next season and Niguez would undoubtedly block their progress to getting more game time. Tuchel also could use the money from the Niguez deal on other purchases. At this stage, you’d have to say that the midfielder will almost certainly end up going back to Atletico Madrid.
