Chilwell has England starting spot back in sights after reclaiming Chelsea place
"It has absolutely been difficult for him and I think that’s pretty normal," Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said of Ben Chilwell last month. Chilwell played the full 90 in Chelsea's Champions League success in May and was expected to be first choice for England at Euro 2020, despite Luke Shaw's good performances for Manchester United.
And yet, Chilwell didn't play a single minute for England at Euro 2020, with Gareth Southgate preferring Shaw and right-back-by-trade Kieran Trippier on the left. That rejection was, understandably, a major dent to his confidence. Furthermore, even after registering zero minutes over the summer for England, Chilwell returned to Chelsea later than others following the Three Lions' progression to the final and, in that time, found Marcos Alonso once again ahead of him in the pecking order.
The Spaniard was a favourite of Tuchel's following his January appointment, with eight of his 11 2020/21 league starts coming after the German replaced Frank Lampard at the Stamford Bridge helm in January. Nevertheless, by the end of the season, Chilwell was starting left wing-back, so it felt like a case of deja vu for the 24-year-old.
Having worked hard to initially claim his spot in the Blues setup, he had to do so again to oust Alonso as first choice, finally doing so when the Spaniard struggled in the opening 45 minutes of Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Juventus at the end of September. Since then, Chilwell has shown no signs that he is prepared to relinquish his starting spot in the Chelsea side.
Chilwell started his third league game of the season in Chelsea's 7-0 mauling of Norwich on Saturday, and he has featured from the outset in their last four competitive games, with the Blues winning all four. Stretching back to last season, Chilwell has also scored in four successive league matches, becoming the first English player to achieve the feat for Chelsea since Frank Lampard back in 2013. Given the lack of game time up until last month, it's some achievement for the left-back.
It also means that, in three appearances, Chilwell has already matched his Premier League goal total from 27 outings in 2020/21 having struck in wins over Southampton, Brentford and Norwich, with the latter two showings earning him a spot in the respective Premier League teams of the week. As a result of his good performances, Chilwell has soared to the top of Chelsea's best rated players in the Premier League this season, yielding a WhoScored rating of 7.98 in the process, that also better than any other left-back in the division.
And not only is Chilwell making a solid argument that he deserves to again be first choice for club, but country too. Shaw's performances in a Manchester United shirt haven't been great this season and while Southgate may feel the United left-back deserves to keep his spot for England, there is little value in overlooking Chilwell at this stage as he continues to shine for the west London side in their title push. He was very good in England's comfortable 5-0 win in Andorra earlier this month, hitting the back of the net in the first half and landing a WhoScored rating of 8.01 and with Shaw conceding a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Hungary a few days later, Chilwell will undoubtedly feel he has done enough to return to being England's first choice left-back.
Having spent a reported £45m to secure his services from Leicester last summer, there were perhaps minor concerns that Chilwell would prove an expensive mistake by the west London side, yet those worries have been quashed in recent weeks as he continues to shine in the final third, and in carrying out his defensive duties. To have again reclaimed his starting spot from Alonso for the second time this year shows incredible mental fortitude from Chilwell and it's this quality to his game, coupled with his form following his return to the side, that will play a key role in stealing his England spot back from Shaw and helping the Blues in their pursuit of further silverware.
