Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Should the Blues Sell Jeffrey Bruma to Hamburg?
Jeffrey Bruma was once touted as the future of Chelsea’s backline—the heir apparent to John Terry.
The 21-year-old Dutch international is currently on loan with Hamburg and admitted that the German club wanted to sign him permanently (from Hamburger Morgenpost via Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC):
"Our boss and our general manager have indicated to me that I will be here for a long time to come.
They want me to pen a contract for several years.
I needed to be very patient. I need to play to develop, but of course I am delighted that a club like Hamburg wants to keep me.
"
This article is for Blues supporters who want to know if Bruma is Terry’s long-term replacement.
Jeffrey Bruma Was Out of His Depth at Chelsea
1 of 3In 1989, Chelsea signed Feyenoord centre-back Ken Monkou for £100,000. Eighteen years later, the Blues bought 15-year-old Jeffrey Bruma from the same club at the same price.
Monkou was named the Blues' Player of the Year in his first season whilst Jeffrey's career is teetering on the edge.
Bruma didn't feature much for Chelsea but when he did, he didn't belong on the field.
In the 1-0 loss to Marseille, there was no communication between him and Branislav Ivanović, as Brandão scored the winner unmarked.
Granted, both defenders can hide behind the excuse of the ball being deflected into the forward's path, but the fact of the matter is neither marked the Brazilian.
Jeffrey was at fault when minnows Zilina, who had lost 7-0 to Marseille the previous matchday, shockingly took the lead via Bello Babatounde.
The Slovakian team only scored three times in the group stages, so you would have presumed Bruma would easily win back possession from their attacking players but he didn't.
Newcastle United's 4-3 victory over the Blues again highlighted Jeffrey's defensive frailties.
It was his professional foul on Shola Ameobi, which led to Ryan Taylor blasting the ensuing free kick past Ross Turnbull.
A mea culpa can elicit sympathy, but Bruma didn't handle the questions surrounding his catastrophic performance against Aston Villa well, since he shifted his culpability to his teammates.
Sure, there was a defensive breakdown, leading Ciaran Clark to head home uncontested.
Which Blues defender headed the ball straight to Marc Albrighton, who swung in the cross for Clark's dramatic equaliser?
No. 43—Jeffrey Bruma.
He then downplayed the extent to which he was dominated by Emile Heskey (from Chelsea TV via The Guardian): "Obviously, when you play against a striker like him, you can't win every ball. You can't come always in front of him, because he's so strong."
Translation: I can't deal with Emile Heskey because he's a powerhouse.
A month after Carlo Ancelotti said (from Chelsea TV via ESPN FC): "It is the time that we can use Bruma," the Dutch youngster was loaned out to Leicester City.
The club viewed Jeffrey's inexperience as a major factor in his poor performances.
If they thought he wasn't good enough, they would've sold him in January, just like Arsène Wenger ditching Armand Traoré.
Out with Bruma (temporarily) and in with £21.3 million man David Luiz, who the club hoped would be their answer to Thiago Silva...that signing didn't turn out so well.
The EPL game vs. Villa was Jeffrey's first and last start in the Premier League.
Why Do Hamburg Want to Sign Jeffrey Bruma Permanently?
2 of 3| Kicker Player Rankings | All Players | Defenders Only |
| 2011-12 | 201/211 | 70/72 |
| 2012-13 | [1] | [2] |
[1] Jeffrey Bruma hasn't played enough games to be ranked.
If he qualified, his current player rating of 4.50 would be tied with Aristide Bancé and Axel Bellinghausen, who are ranked just above Alexander Esswein (4.55)—Kicker's worst rated Bundesliga player this season.
[2] Bruma's 4.50 Kicker rating is 0.25 points higher (the lower the rating, the better) than the two worst defenders: Michael Mancienne and Javier Pinola.
In contrast, Dante's rating is 2.93, which is an accurate depiction of how great he has been for Bayern Munich.
If anything, you can make the argument that the rating is a bit too low.
It should be around 2.30-2.40 considering Die Bayern have conceded seven goals the entire league season. The Blues let in eight goals in the last five Premier League games.
Kicker aren't judging Jeffrey unfairly because out of 235 players that qualified for the 2011-12 season, Bild ranked him at 214.
In light of this, why do Hamburg want to sign Bruma permanently?
Chelsea Need to Sell Jeffrey Bruma
3 of 3When In Bed With Maradona graded Jeffrey Bruma's year, they gave him a D:
"It seems the one-time ‘new JT’ has slipped way down the order and there is a question over whether he can ever be expected to climb back.
This year he has found himself in a similar position squad wise, his appearances coming as often from the bench as the starting line-up.
A specialist centre-back in name, his versatility might well be the thing that holds him back from becoming anything approaching brilliant.
As mentioned at Leicester he was moved to midfield, and during his time in Germany he has become a regular deputy at right-back.
It’s clear there’s a crossroads coming.
Chelsea seem unconvinced but open to a return, the player himself has reiterated he will not go back unless there are guarantees made about first team football.
What next Jeffrey? Decision time ahead, go somewhere and play your best position for a season or two—you won’t regret it
"
Why couldn't Chelsea buy someone like Marquinhos? Or, Dante?
Hopefully, Bruma's compatriot Nathan Aké (also a Feyenoord product [1]) can live up to the hype. If you think about it, Aké's path into the starting XI is clear.
David Luiz is such a liability at the back that he's best served as a midfielder.
Whenever Gary Cahill isn't utilised in a deep back line, he has been found wanting.
John Terry is no Paolo Maldini because the Englishman is a shadow of the version that played under José Mourinho.
Vitesse's centre-back pairing is Guram Kashia and Jan-Arie van der Heijden. But fear not, Blues loanee Tomás Kalas, a natural centre-back, has slotted in at right-back.
Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has moved Nathaniel Chalobah, the reigning England Men's Youth Player of the Year, into midfield at Watford.
Obviously, Jeffrey doesn't have a future with the Blues, unless he does an "Andrea Barzagli," who went from error-prone flop at Wolfsburg to one of the world's best CBs with Juventus.
Given Bruma's contract ends in the summer of 2014, a decision will be made at the end of this season by Chelsea's brains trust; meaning Bruma better up his game if he wants to be a future Blues player.
Former Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne tore his ankle ligaments, so this is the chance for Jeffrey to cement a starting position with HSV.
In his most recent match, he made Srđan Lakić look like Mario Mandžukić—oh well, there's always next week.
In October 2011, I graded five of Bruma's games and gave him: D, F, A, F, D.
The summary is still applicable to the Chelsea loanee (via B/R): "Too slow physically and mentally. Not resilient enough. Consistently caught out of position. Doesn't seem to be good enough to play in the Bundesliga let alone play for Hamburg."
The most logical option for the Blues is to sell Jeffrey to Hamburg.
[1] Here's an observation I made in a recent article (via B/R):
"For me, Feyenoord's academy is better than Ajax in recent memory (emphasis on the word recent, not saying historically).
Jordy Clasie (21), Tonny Vilhena (18), Bruno Martins Indi (20), Terence Kongolo (18) and Stefan de Vrij (21) are standouts.
Though I am bit hazy about De Vrij, but Clasie, Vilhena and BMI will be moving onto bigger and better things sooner rather than later.
If Kongolo can recover from his long-term injury, he could be a beast at the back.
The Varkenoord have also lost Kyle Ebecilio (18) to Arsenal, Nathan Aké (17) to Chelsea and Karim Rekik (18) to Manchester City.
Do you know which club Robin van Persie came from? Feyenoord.
Of the Dutch teenagers who dominated the 2011 U-17 Euros, six were with the Feyenoord academy.
UEFA.com's Golden Player Ebecilio was registered as a Gunner, but he's a Feyenoord boy, so technically it's seven Feyenoord talents compared to the two Ajax players (one was a backup keeper and the other a reserve forward).
"
Just wanted to highlight Feyenoord's academy because it doesn't receive the recognition it deserves outside of the Netherlands.
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Statistics courtesy of Kicker, WhoScored.com and Squawka
