Tom Gott previews Charly Musonda’s chances of establishing himself in the Chelsea squad.
In 2011, an article in The Mirror called Charly Musonda Jr the most wanted teen in Europe. The hype around the young Belgian was intense, and Chelsea were understandably delighted to secure his signature. Since his transition to senior football, Musonda has found minutes hard to come by, but a lot of the initial excitement around Musonda is still there. Following on from my previous article on an academy prospect, What Does The Future Hold For Ruben Loftus-Cheek?, we take a look at the future of a second young player at Chelsea – Charly Musonda.
As mentioned previously, Charly Musonda was an incredibly sought-after prospect as a teenager at Anderlecht in his native Belgium. Almost every big club was interested in signing him, including the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. The transfer saga around Musonda seemed to develop into a three horse race, with Chelsea battling against the Spanish superpowers. He finally opted to sign for Chelsea in June 2012, alongside his two older brothers, Tika and Lamisha (both currently at UE Llagostera in the third tier of Spanish football). Their father, Charly Sr, described Lamisha as a small player with great moves and pace and described Tika as a prominent centre back with a keen eye for a pass. However, it can be argued that Chelsea were never interested in the two eldest Musonda brothers, and Chelsea were only focusing on signing the youngest of the trio.
Charly Jr himself confirmed that he would only sign for a team who would also take on his brothers, telling Marca “it is true that I rejected Barcelona because Chelsea also agreed to sign my brothers. At the time, it was very important for the family that we all joined the same club. We wanted to stick together. Barcelona are among the best in the world, but it was important for me to have my family with me.”
Chelsea did not appear overly attached to either Tika or Lamisha, selling Lamisha to KV Mechelen and releasing Tika at the end of his contract, highlighting the lengths they were willing to go to secure the signature of a 15-year-old talent who was being described as “The Next Eden Hazard”. This was just a week after signing the man himself in June 2012. Both signings were met with similar enthusiasm, especially in Belgium, where he was widely considered to possess more talent than either Kevin De Bruyne or Hazard did when they were 15 years old.
After joining Chelsea, he immediately settled into the Under-18 team, scoring once and providing two assists in his first five appearances. Like Hazard, Musonda plays primarily as a winger and relies on his speed, low centre of gravity and trickery to beat his opponents. Musonda was a crucial part of the 2013-14 youth team who dominated youth football in Europe, and his skills were always on display, such as in a critical title-deciding encounter with Manchester United’s Under-21 squad. Musonda skipped past multiple defenders, before unleashing a quick shot from just outside the penalty area, leaving the goalkeeper without a chance. His talent ensured he won every honour possible during his time in Chelsea’s academy, and he even played a pivotal role for Belgium’s youth teams.
His international coaches were so excited about Musonda that he made his debut for the Under-21 side when he was just 17 and rarely looked out of place. Adi Viveash, Musonda’s youth team coach at Chelsea, described Musonda as “pretty sparkling”, and discussed Musonda’s mental capabilities, calling him a “deep thinker (who) really thinks a lot about his game”. Possessing such talent allowed Musonda to impact the game from all over the pitch, such as when he was occasionally utilised as a central midfielder for Chelsea’s youth sides in an attempt to encourage his physicality and versatility.
As Musonda aged, it became time for him to make the infamous transition into senior football at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately for Musonda, he suffered the same fate as the majority of his peers and found game time hard to come by. Musonda often opted to vent his frustrations on social media, with multiple posts online making it abundantly clear he was becoming incredibly annoyed by his situation.
Rumours resurfaced of interest from the footballing giants once more, and Chelsea were eager to reassure Musonda, by offering Musonda to other teams on loan. Musonda himself rejected a move to Standard Liège, believing he could play at a higher level, and soon after he secured a 6-month loan to Real Betis in Spain. It was often stated how his game would fit seamlessly into Spanish football, and this was quickly proven correct, with Musonda earning a Man of the Match award in his debut against Valencia. Musonda’s quick feet didn’t allow Valencia a moment’s rest, helping to create a goal and enticing José Gaya to commit a frustrated foul, leading to his sending off.
In a game against Espanyol, Musonda was even the recipient of a questionably playful clip around the ear from opposing midfielder Victor Sanchez, after Musonda had used his dribbling skills to humiliate Sanchez and his teammates for the entire duration of the game. Musonda made 16 appearances during this 6-month period, providing one goal and one assist, and his loan was renewed for a further season.
Unfortunately, a change in management saw Musonda fall out of favour, and after making a mere eight appearances in the first half of the season, Musonda was recalled to Chelsea. Manager Antonio Conte declared that Musonda would stay at Chelsea, instead of finding a second temporary home, but the Belgian was made to wait a further eight months before being afforded his debut for Chelsea. He played 8 minutes in the Community Shield loss to Arsenal and started his first game for Chelsea a month later, scoring in Chelsea’s 5-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.
After scoring, Musonda’s sheer elation was incredible to see. Opening his arms wide, he screamed as he ran down the touchline, absorbing all the excitement from the fans. It was clear that this moment meant a lot to Musonda, and he confirmed this in a later interview, as he also spoke of his joy of lining up alongside his idol, Eden Hazard, declaring “it was worth the wait”. Resigned to three further substitute appearances at the start of the 2017-18 season, Musonda signed an 18-month loan deal with Celtic, where he is hoping to regain the momentum surrounding his career.
As a result, Musonda will return to Chelsea after the 2018/19 season draws to a close, and will be at a crucial period in his career. Musonda clearly believes he should be playing regular football, and if Chelsea are unable to offer him the minutes he desires, he will surely pursue a permanent move away from Chelsea. Musonda stated that he is still only at the start of his career, and will be able to play for “a big, big club” when he is 24 or 25 years old. He will be returning to Chelsea just before his 23rd birthday, and therefore will be looking to put this plan into motion. However, for him to make an impact on the Chelsea first team, he will need to use his stay at Celtic to develop the aspects of his game which do not come as naturally to him as dribbling.
Musonda has never been a clinical goalscorer, with one goal in 12 Under-21 appearances for Belgium, and only two goals in senior football to date. While he does have the ability to score goals, he is far too inconsistent with his shooting to be considered as a viable threat to the Chelsea first team players at the time of writing.
Furthermore, his passing also often leaves a lot to be desired. On multiple occasions, Musonda has dribbled his way around 3 or 4 defenders, only to misplace a simple pass or cross, and lose possession. These skills will need to be improved before he can make an impact in the first team of any “big, big club”, but, under Brendan Rodgers, he has the potential to improve all of these aspects. If not, it is safe to say that Musonda will not have a future in the starting 11 at Stamford Bridge, as he would become a liability on the field – a player whose feet move faster than his brain.
However, should Musonda add these two skills to his arsenal, he will become an incredible player. As previously discussed, his movement and dribbling are already fantastic. In his initial 6-months at Real Betis, Musonda completed 57 dribbles in La Liga, bettered only by Neymar’s 75 (per WhoScored). His small frame and dribbling abilities suggest his future is only in attacking midfield, which would leave him in direct competition with Hazard, Willian and Pedro.
Obviously, the Chelsea squad could, and more than likely will, change between now and the end of the 2018/19 season, and it is impossible to predict his competition. Ultimately, it all comes down to Musonda’s development while at Celtic. If Musonda becomes a genuine threat, adding at least one of goal scoring or assisting to his repertoire, he will undoubtedly have a future at Stamford Bridge. He’s similar to Eden Hazard, who, much like Musonda, regularly breezes past defender with minimum effort, but then he has the capabilities to finish off an attack – unlike Musonda. The thought of two Eden Hazard’s in your attacking line is a mouth-watering one, and it’s up to Musonda to make this thought a reality.
Written by Tom Gott – @Myfootymind
