Why Chelsea should learn from past mistakes and re-sign wing wizard Boga

When Chelsea signed Jeremie Boga to their youth academy in 2009, the Blues may have had high hopes with the winger, yet, as is so often the case, a young player excelling can at times struggle to break into the first team. Indeed, when he was promoted to the senior squad, Boga went on loan spells to Rennes, Granada and Birmingham before his sale to Sassuolo in 2018. He made just one Premier League appearance for Chelsea, an 18-minute spell in their 3-2 home defeat to Burnley at the beginning of 2017/18. 

The £3.5m they received in 2018 is looking all the more bargain nowadays, however. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Boga's debut campaign with Sassuolo was fairly underwhelming as he flitted in and out of the starting XI making just 14 league starts, but with 11 sub apps to his name, the Ivory Coast international still returned a notable WhoScored rating of 6.80. The current campaign has seen Boga really make a name for himself in Italy's top tier. 

Eight goals and two assists has contributed towards a WhoScored rating of 7.30, while Boga has routinely exhibited a statistically calculated strength of 'dribbling'. He has completed at least 30 more dribbles (106) than any other player in Serie A - for context, Chelsea four designated wingers have completed 128 dribbles between them - and for a fairly inconsistent Sassuolo side, his stock has risen massively in recent months. 

Fortunately for Chelsea, they have a buyback clause for Boga, which they are rumoured to be set to exercise when time allows. For around £13m, the 23-year-old would return to Stamford Bridge, where Frank Lampard could look to integrate into the squad or aim to make a profit on Boga. Given his excellent showings in a Sassuolo shirt this season, the Blues would stand to earn a substantial financial windfall if they do elect to buy Boga back and then sell him on. 

With 41 goals scored and 39 conceded, Sassuolo are one of the more exciting Italian teams to watch, especially for the neutral. Boga has been vital in the former return with his 45 shots and 25 key passes ranking third and fifth, respectively, of all Sassuolo players. It is his ability with the ball at his feet and his head down that has seen him crop back up on Chelsea's radar, however, and seen a number of top sides take note, too. 

31.9% of Sassuolo's total completed dribbles this season have been courtesy of Boga, with his impact on the left seeing the Serie A side develop a statistically calculated strength of 'creating chances through individual skill', that strength their only one deemed to be Very Strong, and a style of play of 'attacking down the left'. A majority of Sassuolo's attacks come down the left (38%) with Boga able to pick up the ball and ghost past opponents with ease. 

It's no wonder, then, that Chelsea are weighing up the possibility of bringing Boga back to west London. The Blues have previous with allowing top performers to leave before their time, with Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Romelu Lukaku three stand out examples. Chelsea appear to have learned from previous mistakes, though, with the modest buyback clause proof of that. 

Chelsea are in the market for new wingers this summer, too, with Pedro and Willian both expected to leave when their contracts expire. They have already acted to land Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and while Jadon Sancho is a big money option for Chelsea, Boga, who has been quietly pulling up trees in Italy, is the cost effective equivalent. 

With football at a stand still, for now at least, Boga won't have the opportunity to showcase his talent to the watching world for the foreseeable future, but he has already shown plenty for Chelsea to consider exercising that buyback clause before too long and while he may not have done enough to nail down a regular starting spot under Lampard, despite the manager's use of the club's impressive array of youth talent, he has proven he can excel in one of Europe's top leagues and proof that clubs are, perhaps, too quick to write of exciting youngsters at the expense of a short-term profit.