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Chelsea’s recent £3 million signing of Papy Djilobodji was a mystery to many in the footballing world. The 26-year-old former Nantes centre-back was signed by Mourinho on a 4-year conract after his interest in John Stones was rebuffed by Everton, who were unwilling to offload their player in this summer.
The Senegal international has clearly been brought in to replace either one of Gary Cahill or John Terry in the near future, although he would be the fourth choice centre-back at the club at this point of time. His age means that he will most probably get a chance to impress soon and hopefully make everyone take notice of the talent he has.
Here are 5 things you should know about Papy Djilobodji:
1)Rock Solid in defence
Papy Djilobodji was incredibly consistent for Nantes in the Ligue 1 in the 2014-15 season and established himself as one of the best defenders in France courtesy his consistent performances. The 26-year-old isn’t the young player Mourinho wanted to act as a cover for the ageing duo of Gary Cahill and John Terry, but he is exactly the kind of player he is looking for.
The Senegalese centre-back had the fourth highest number of clearances with an average of 8.3 per game and was also in the top 10 for interceptions with an average of 3.3 per game. His 101 interceptions for Michel Der Zakarian’s side was more than anything managed by the Chelsea defenders in the previous campaign.
Despite finishing in 14th place, his former Nantes had the fifth-best record in the league last season. They had Djilobodji to thank for their impressive defensive performances as they conceded only 40 goals in 38 league matches.
2)Tall, quick, two-footed
The Senegalese player has a powerful stature that matches his huge 6’4’’ frame and is incredibly quick for a tall person. His obvious height advantage has enabled him to win plenty of aerial duals, with an average of 3.1 per game as compared to 3.3 for Gary Cahill and 2.6
Papy packs incredible recovery pace which allows him to intercept balls and read the game very well. He is a predominantly left-footed player who is comfortable with either foot, which has led Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure to make this statement: "I have seldom seen a defender with this good a left foot and right foot."
3) Versatile but malicious
Papy is a centre-back by trade and is most comfortable in defence, but he is also a versatile player who is a capable defensive midfielder. When the Senegalese moved to Nantes from his first club Senart-Moissy back in 2010, he was earmarked to be a potential holding midfield player.
He made several appearances in that role but was forced to move back into defence after struggling with his positioning, although he is more than capable of stepping up to the plate if need be.
The 26-year-old has a reputation for being rash and erratic in the way he plays, which is also one of the main reasons he isn’t played as a midfielder. According to a report based on the 2013-14 season by Football News France, Djilobodji makes an average of two tackles per game and commits one foul, resulting in four yellow cards and a red. He went on to improve on those statistics in the following season, although he is still very capable of the occasional moment of malice.
4) He has an eye for goal
The new Chelsea signing has a knack for scoring goals along with his defensive distribution to the game. He has scored 9 goals in 171 appearances for Nantes, which includes a memorable long-range strike against Toulouse.
He also packs the desire to provide an attacking option from set piece situations and uses his height as an advantage to nod in goals for his club. When asked about it in an interview with the Nantes official website, he said: "I ride on corners... and I will also try to recover from free kicks.", as quoted on ESPN.
5) He is a footballer by accident
Djilobodji began his career in the town of Kaolock in Senegal and was part of the youth academy there. He was on the fringes of the first team but decided to take the matter into his own hands by allegedly registering himself with fake papers and posing as the lookalike of a player.
The defender chose to move to Europe at the age of 19 and after failed trials for Lille and Lazio, he ended up signing his first professional contract with fourth-division French club Senart-Moissy.
