Reguilon availability shows Chelsea needn't break the bank to sign Chilwell

Reports this week are emergining that Chelsea are ready to step up their interest in Leicester star Ben Chilwell, despite the Foxes holding out for a reported £80m for the England international.

The Blues' pursuit of a new left-back certainly appears to be their next port of call in the transfer market following the acquisitions of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, with Kai Havertz still expected to follow suit. The London club have been linked with a whole host of players to resolve what Frank Lampard clearly views as a problem position, with Chilwell remaining atop the apparent shopping list for some time.

However, Chelsea - who finished fourth in the Premier League, subsequently securing their place in next season's Champions League - are believed to be weighing up yet another alternative should they fail to negotiate a fee for Chilwell. Indeed, the latest name to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge is Sergio Reguilon, who appears to be surplus to requirements at Real Madrid despite an impressive loan spell at Sevilla.

Both 23, while Chilwell would set the Blues back £80m, Reguilon is reportedly available for just £18m, with Everton already having made their interest in the Spaniard known. So is the £62m gap in valuation between the two full-backs justifiable? Well, from a statistical standpoint such a disparity is almost laughable.

The two players are certainly comparable, both the same age and both capable of playing either at left-back or as a wing-back, while playing in sides that were competing for Champions League qualification last season. While Leicester ultimately missed out - ironically, to Chelsea - Sevilla made the cut and Reguilon played a considerable part in that feat.

In fact, when you assess the Spanish outfit's results with and without the young defender in the starting lineup, his impact was clear. Of the 29 matches the loanee started, Sevilla won 17 (58.6 per cent) and lost only four. Of the nine matches Reguilon did not start, the side won just twice (22.2 per cent) and conceded exactly double the number of goals per game (1.44 from 0.72).

While effective in attack, Reguilon is a solid defender first and foremost, averaging two tackles per 90 minutes at a steady if unspectacular 60.6 per cent success rate. Both figures are in excess of Chilwell's numbers of 1.6 and 59.7 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile both played a direct hand in six league goals, with Reguilon scoring two and assisting four and Chilwell managing three of each. Again, Reguilon came out just ahead in terms of chances created per 90 (1.5 to 1.3), while the Spaniard averaged more than twice the number of successful dribbles per 90 (1.8 to 0.7). Both boast modest pass accuracy figures but it's Reguilon that is superior once more in that regard (81.4 to 78.3 per cent), so it becomes pretty confusing pretty quickly as to the huge difference in asking price.

That is from a statistical standpoint at least, and arguably a logical one. Chilwell has the benefit of Premier League experience and the fact that he is English of course inflates his price tag, while the status of the selling club is perhaps the biggest factor here. Chilwell is Leicester's first choice left-back, while Reguilon may well return to Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's third choice.

That in itself should be a questionable stance for a player that earned a place in our WhoScored.com LaLiga Team of the Season, with a rating of 7.10 unsurprisingly (given the above) in advance of Chilwell's score of 6.96 once more.

Unlike many of their competitors in the current climate, it appears money is no object for Chelsea as things stand. However, that shouldn't cloud the club's judgment when a player that arguably performed better than their number one target this season becomes available for a quarter of the price.