Juan Cuadrado – A Chelsea flop to Juventus star
Juan Cuadrado, 31, rose through Independiente Medellin’s youth ranks and soon moved to Italy with Udinese in the summer of 2009. After a few years, he was signed by Fiorentina initially on loan in 2012 and he established himself as one of the best wingers in Europe in his time at Artemio Franchi Stadium.
In his two and a half seasons with Fiorentina, he scored 26 goals and provided 21 assists and his impressive performances earned him a move to Chelsea for £23.3m. He was signed by then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on the transfer deadline of the 2015 winter business window.
In his first season with Chelsea, he featured in 14 games but made no impact like he used to make with Fiorentina. The following campaign saw him make just one appearance for the Blues as he could not adapt to Mourinho’s tactics.
The exciting winger turned into a mere bench player before going out on loan to Juventus for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign. He once again excelled in Italy with the Old Lady, scoring 4 goals in 28 games and providing 4 assists as well.
The Colombian went on to become one of the best and reliable players in the squad and featured regularly under Massimiliano Allegri. The versatile player has become one of the best players on the right flank, capable of operating as a winger and as a right-back.
The 31-year-old has gone on to win 4 Serie A titles and 3 Italian Cups with Juventus and also helped his side reach the Champions League final in 2017. However, he had to give up his No:7 shirt after Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Turin.
Cuadrado’s journey from a flop in the Premier League to a champion with Juventus is one among the best in this category. He has gone from strength to strength in the past four years and remains a key player under Maurizio Sarri this term, helping his side fight for the 9th Scudetto in as many years.
The fact that Chelsea signed Cuadrado and loaned Mo Salah to Fiorentina as a part of the deal can be termed as a huge blunder and a bad misjudgement. While Salah has returned to the Premier League with Liverpool, growing on to become the best in the business, Cuadrado has found a path for himself and has made himself an important part of a highly successful Juventus side.
Nevertheless, the losers here seem to be Chelsea.
