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Former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has showered praise on the Blues' defender Trevoh Chalobah. He believes the 22-year-old has been a "standout player" for Chelsea this season.
Chalobah has made 17 appearances for Chelsea this season, scoring three goals in the process. He also recently featured in the Blues' 2-0 win over Brentford in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
Meanwhile, Mason Mount has been Chelsea's top scorer this season with seven goals to go with his four assists in the Premier League. However, Cudicini has named Chalobah as the Chelsea player he is most impressed by.
In an interview with Metro, Cudicini said:
“For sure, Mason Mount is also doing extremely well; he was in and out of the team early on in the season but he’s a pivotal part of things right now. I have to say because he was part of our development phase, Trevoh Chalobah has been my standout player of the season so far for Chelsea."
He added:
“He’s done extremely well and I’m so happy to see him performing so well for the first-team. He was a late addition in the pre-season squad this summer and I’ve been working closely with him over the past two years so I’m extremely proud to see him doing so well."
First-choice Chelsea defenders Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all currently tangled up in complicated contract situations. If they leave in January or next summer, Chalobah could become even more important to Thomas Tuchel's plans.
“It’s difficult to say exactly what’s going wrong" - Carlo Cudicini on Chelsea's lapse in form
Since their 4-0 thrashing of Juventus in the Champions League in November, Chelsea have seen their form slip. They have won just three out of eight games since then in all competitions. This has seen them slip six points off Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and three points off Liverpool in second.
They have also had to face injuries to key players like N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ben Chilwell.
Cudicini gave his views on Chelsea's dip in form and said:
“It’s difficult to say exactly what’s going wrong at the moment for Chelsea. One thing that’s clear is that we’ve struggled to keep as many clean sheets as we did at the beginning of the season. It’s something the team has been able to build their recent success on, and – the Wolves game aside – they’ve been conceding quite a few goals lately."
He further added:
“So that’s a reason things haven’t gone well of late, but it could also be that there are just so many games at this time of the year and we’ve been hit with some injuries in important positions.”
After winning the EFL cup quarter-finals against Brentford, Chelsea will face rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals. It will be played over two legs in January. In the Premier League, they face Aston Villa at Villa Park in a Boxing Day clash.
