Calum Chambers is the latest Southampton player that is nearing their exit door, it has been reported that a bid of around £16 million has been accepted by the Saints and the player has already passed a medical. Chambers ,19 made 22 Premier League appearances last season impressing a lot in the process. Many tipped Chambers to make the England World Cup squad but he narrowly missed out with Roy Hodgson opting for a more “experienced” approach in defence.
Chambers’ arrival may come as a bit of a shock to many, a bit of a bolt out of the blue you might say. Arsenal recently confirmed the signing of another right back Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle for around £12 million, the addition of the young Saints full back is a clever one. It will be a certainty that Chambers pushes Debuchy all the way for that no.1 right back spot and I for one would not be at all surprised to see him top of the pecking order come the new year.
One question I have seen asked on numerous forums where does this leave Carl Jenkinson and Hector Bellerin? There has been a lot of loyalty shown to Jenkinson by the fans in recent weeks and I would mostly put that down to him being a boyhood Gooner more than much else. It has been massively highlighted his love for the club but I would expect him to at the age of 22 years of age be showing more promise than he has. If he does not get loaned out early next season I would expect him to be move on in the January transfer window he would have fallen down the pecking order by then. Hector Bellerin is a different story, the Spaniard who is the same age as Chambers just needs games to develop. He is a little bit behind the Saints full back in his development so I would expect him to make a move to maybe one of the newly promoted clubs or a top tier Championship club. Bellerin has shown signs of promise especially last season. Debuchy is 29 and I would expect his current deal with Arsenal to be his last in all honesty, Chambers at the moment would be a great understudy to the French right back. The following season (2015/16) I would firmly expect Bellerin to be vying for a starting place with Chambers.
What does Chambers offer?, first and foremost he is a proven athlete much like the departed Sagna was. His work-rate is one of the highest I have seen in the League, he is good defensively, great in the air and very useful in the final third. As you can probably tell I can’t speak highly enough of the 19 year old. He does the simple things well which has sometimes been our problem, Sagna sometimes used to over complicate things he would lose possession trying to beat a player in a dangerous part of the field namely just outside our 18 yard box. Chambers keeps it simple he is the kind of player that plays the percentages.
At this stage as a club we would be paying around £16 million for potential, this is sometimes a risk I don’t think it will be in this case. He is by no means the finished article but who is at 19 years of age. He is a very sensible investment for the club, with the right coaching I am confident he can be one of the best full backs in the Premier League for years to come.
Thanks for Reading.
