Cesc Fabregas has singled out Chelsea’s Benoit Badiashile for his incredible ability with the ball at his feet.
Cesc Fabregas, who officially retired as a football player last year, is more qualified than most to discuss great passers of a football when you consider he’s one of his generation’s elite midfielders.
The former Chelsea star, who won two Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge, has been discussing his old club this week.
Interestingly, Fabregas has paid huge credit to Blues centre-back Benoit Badiashile, who he crossed paths with at Monaco.
Fabregas has highlighted Badiashile’s qualities as a superb passer and technician in defence.
The 22-year-old’s a towering centre-half that does possess a cultured left foot and he’s usually comfortable building out from the back.
Speaking on the Planet Premier League Podcast, Fabregas said: “I played with [Axel] Disasi and Badiashile, Badiashile is one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in all the young players in Europe.”
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Cesc Fabregas hails Benoit Badiashile
For Badiashile, it’s been an up and down season so far. We certainly feel like he’s still yet to get back to the heights he reached before a lengthy injury absence.
The ball-playing French defender joined Chelsea from Ligue 1 club Monaco in a £35m deal (Sky Sports) 13 months ago.
He’s got all the attributes of a modern day central defender with his pace, strength and technical qualities. However, he’s really got to rediscover his best form quickly to stick in the Blues starting XI.
We’ve been alarmed by some of Badiashile’s below par performances in recent weeks, but he looked a lot more at it during the midweek victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round replay. Speaking via BBC Sport on Wednesday night, Dion Dublin hailed Chelsea defenders Badiashile and Axel Disasi for their displays versus Aston Villa.
If there’s any doubters in the fanbase regarding Badiashile’s abiliy, they may take some comfort in hearing Fabregas’ recent vote of confidence.
