Benjamin Šeško vs. Julián Álvarez | Tactical Analysis

Who's the Better Fit for Chelsea?

Hello everyone!, I'm CFCDP (Dylan), and I'm excited to join Si Phillips Talks Chelsea as a writer and video creator. As a passionate Chelsea fan, I've been creating videos and sharing insights on transfer news, player performances, and tactical breakdowns for a while now, but I am looking forward to bring this content to Si’s site!

The focus of the majority of my content is going to be tactics and statistical analysis. I love learning more about the game and with more data being available its becoming easier for the regular fan to utilize it.

I hope for this to be an open discussion with you all, so I’d love for you all to comment on these posts and let me know what your opinions are on my research. so we can pick each others brains. The best part about scouting and player evaluations is that everyone has their own set of ideas, eyes, and beliefs about what makes a quality footballer.

For my first video and content piece here I am going to compare and contrast two of Chelsea’s perceived striker targets this summer, Benjamin Šeško & Julián Álvarez. It seems like if the choice is Šeško it might move fast, so I wanted to make sure I got to look at him ASAP.

If you like my content you can find it here on Si’s website after its posted on YouTube which you can subscribe to by visiting my page here. Also follow me on Twitter here (yes, I still call it Twitter), where I love to interact with anyone who wants to chat Chelsea.

As Chelsea FC embarks on a new era under manager Enzo Maresca, the club's tactical approach and player acquisitions will be crucial in shaping its success. With a possession-based style of play at the heart of Maresca's philosophy, the potential signing of Benjamin Šeško or Julián Álvarez could offer exciting new dimensions to the squad. In this article, we'll compare Šeško and Álvarez, analyzing how each player would fit into Chelsea's system under Maresca and how they would provide a different profile to Chelsea’s current striker Nicolas Jackson. 

Background

Benjamin Šeško

• Nationality: Slovenian

• Current Club: RB Leipzig

• Position: Striker

• Age: 20 (as of 2024)

• Height: 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)

Benjamin Šeško is a rising star known for his physicality, aerial ability, and goal-scoring instincts. At RB Leipzig, he has developed into a formidable striker, making him an attractive option for top clubs seeking a powerful presence up front.

Julián Álvarez

• Nationality: Argentine

• Current Club: Manchester City

• Position: Forward

• Age: 24 (as of 2024)

• Height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Julián Álvarez has quickly become a key player for Manchester City, known for his versatility, technical skills, and intelligence on the ball. His ability to play across the front line and contribute defensively makes him a valuable asset in a possession-based system.

Playing Style and Strengths

Benjamin Šeško

1. Physicality and Aerial Dominance: Šeško’s height and strength would provide Chelsea with a strong aerial presence, essential for set-pieces and crosses. Šeško is an interesting option in this sense, because of the lack of aerial ability generally around the squad, but specifically in the striker position. Nicholas Jackson for his size didn’t show to have that natural aerial ability expected for a player of his size and Šeško almost doubled Jackson’s output in terms of headers won, headers won %, and headed shots. 

2. Finishing Ability: Šeško’s composure and clinical finishing would add a reliable goal-scoring option to Chelsea's front line. Šeško thrives on being opportunistic and showing up in the right place in the penalty area and 6-yard box. Particularly in the penalty box, Šeško out performed his xG by 4.51 and used both feet and his head exceptionally well performing his xG in all categories.

Šeško’s shot chart also is a good indicator that he isn’t locked into one area inside the penalty box and likes to pop up in anywhere he can find space.

3. Hold-Up Play: His ability to hold up the ball and bring teammates into play would complement Chelsea's possession-based approach, allowing midfielders to advance and join the attack.

Šeško is a more prototypical hold-up play striker, which could benefit the likes of Cole Palmer & Christopher Nkunku. Šeško often played in front of  Loïs Openda at RB Leipzig last season and the tandem worked well in unison and connecting play to both the wide attackers. Šeško has a knack for being able to dribble out of the hold-up and has a decent IQ when it comes to finding players and then finding space. 

In this screenshot, we see an example of Šeško’s positional awareness, hold-up play, and decision-making. Šeško comes up to receive the ball with his back to goal. Understanding where he is on the field is such an important thing, one thing you tended to notice from Nicolas Jackson in this position was that he liked to turn in this spot, despite open runners and head towards goal. To be fair to Jackson he is very good at keeping the ball and doing that, but Šeško has the ability to lay off and make a powerful run into the box and relies on wide playmakers to get him the ball and connect with other players making runs. You can envision the likes of Reece James overlapping on the right or Noni Madueke (hopefully Michael Olise) and Šeško crashing towards the net alongside the second striker (Nkunku) and wide players as you can see below. 

4. Work Rate and Movement: Despite his size, Šeško’s mobility and work rate would enable him to press high and make intelligent runs, crucial for disrupting opposition defenses and creating scoring opportunities. Šeško was more than serviceable in counter pressing situations which is a big factor in Maresca’s system. Maresca presses into a 4-2-2 formation with one of the 8’s pushing up. Šeško ranks in the 80th percentile in ball recoveries in interceptions furthering the argument that his work rate is above average. 

Maresca’s press starts very early after losing the ball simply because of the high possession percentage, Šeško fits that role perfectly by having an innate ability to regain the ball in counterpressing situations.

Speaking towards Šeško’s work rate he is a striker who pulls to all sides of the field, as you can see by his season-long heat map. He is relatively comfortable making runs from everywhere on the field which is another positive. 

Šeško’s movement is another attribute that makes him a tantalizing prospect. In a central role for Leipzig, he can make key runs off defenders and understand space. He reminds me a little bit of Romelu Lukaku in the sense of holding the ball up and knowing where the defenders are so he can make a looping run. 

Šeško notices that Dani Olmo is positioned in an advantageous situation beating his trailing defender and that the CB marking him is going to have to shade towards Olmo creating space to the backside. 

Once the flick happens Šeško in a matter of about 3 yards can quickly turn his hips and attack that open space. This is an illustration of how dynamic Šeško is in the attacking third and his awareness of space and the ability to exploit it. 

Finally, Olmo chips the ball over the nearside defender and Šeško does what he does best, attacking the ball rather than letting the ball dictate what he is going to do. A lot of strikers would let the ball drop to his feet, but the goalkeeper is coming off his line aggressively and Šeško heads it perfectly into the goal, which he is very comfortable doing even in unusual heading scenarios like this one. 

Julián Álvarez

1. Versatility: Álvarez’s ability to play as a winger, second striker, or central forward aligns perfectly with Maresca's flexible tactical setups, offering multiple attacking options. Last season at City, the Argentinian played in a lot of different roles, due to Erling Haaland being in the lineup more times than not. 

Despite having to move around quite a bit Álvarez still put up some fantastic numbers with 19 goals and 13 assists in all competitions. It’s easy to see Álvarez in several different roles at Chelsea, but the question is where would Enzo Maresca play him most?

It’s easy to make a comparison of Álvarez to Jamie Vardy as both are similar in size, make good runs into the box, and are good finishers. 

The one big difference in this chart is the number of shots in favor of Vardy and the number of creation opportunities for Álvarez, but that’s because Álvarez was playing in the attacking midfield position.

Playmaking is one of Álvarez’s strong suits that can’t be denied and was why Guardiola felt so comfortable playing him as a second striker/attacking midfielder.

Álvarez when playing as the striker is a lot like Nicolas Jackson actually in some regards, while it may not look the same exactly their strengths are making runs in the channels and carrying the ball at their feet.

Álvarez has about 300 more total carries than Jackson, so we will keep in mind the ratio when going through this, but all in all, there are some similarities that we can point to, specifically ⅓ (final third carries), PrgC (progressive carries), and TotDist (total distance). The Total Distance statistic is the one I find most interesting. For Jackson, he was collecting up his distance yardage in long runs from the halfway line. In Álvarez’s case, we see more carries but about the same yardage as Jackson because commonly against a low block which City faced more than any in the PL, you are seeing more short bursts to penetrate and move the defense. Alvarez found many assists off of the carries because of shifting the defense.  

2.  Dribbling and Technical Skills: Álvarez has elite ball skills in dribbling, passing, and shooting scenarios. He has shown that since his time at River Plate. As we mentioned, City faced a low block a lot of the time, and to beat that incisive passing rather than dribbles was the way Pep chose to attack. Despite this, when the opportunity arose Álvarez was more than able to take on players and complete dribbles successfully in the 87th percentile. 

While doing my research on Álvarez this was one of my favorite moments. 

This is in a brief transition period against Crystal Palace when the low block isn’t completely set up, but its a bit of brilliance from Bernardo Silva to find this pass and Álvarez does a fantastic job here showcasing technical ability by understanding the space in between the box of Palace defenders. 

The pass is just lovely, but Álvarez does well to bait the Palace defender into an interception attempt once the ball gets to Álvarez’s foot he makes a tight turn on the ball and opens himself to the goal. While doing my research on Enzo Maresca, one of the things that emphasized was players opening their hips when receiving the ball so they can keep their eyes up to dribble, pass, or shoot; it seems like Álvarez has that trait already.

3. Vision and Creativity: Álvarez’s vision and creativity would enhance Chelsea's attacking fluidity, providing key passes and assists to unlock defenses. This may be one of the biggest positives that Álvarez can boost against Šeško and Jackson. Álvarez is an elite passer against the low block as an attacking midfielder. 

Álvarez’s stats are weighted for him as an attacking midfielder or forward because he played in those positions a lot for City this past season. If you look at his FB-Ref page and scale it for just Forwards his passing stats are all in the 99th percentile, but the ones shown here are for midfield. 

This example here is a great one to show his vision and creativity with the ball at his feet. This is such a narrow setup from West Ham, so it would take a moment of brilliance to get past it. An intelligent run from Bernardo Silva is seen by Álvarez and he has the quality to make the pass.

4. Goal Scoring & Runs: I simply can’t tell you enough how good Julián Álvarez is at making runs off the shoulder of a defender and being composed and quick enough to get shots off. He doesn’t think he just does it, which is refreshing in the sense that it seems like Nicholas Jackson thinks a lot before the shot. This screenshot in particular is such a good representation of it. 

Álvarez is catching Tim Ream who isn’t the fastest center back in the game and is trying to keep pace and Antonee Robinson isn’t marking him close enough. Because of this Álvarez is a full-on sprint to receive the through ball. Making quality runs is a byproduct of understanding who you are making the run against, and with a clear speed advantage Álvarez takes off and finds himself in a shooting position if he can get the shot off quickly and he does just that to score. 

Álvarez’s statistics are really tantalizing. He is in the 80th or 90th percentiles in a number of shooting metrics. 

Another thing to like about Álvarez is his ability on the ball in set-piece situations he was City’s primary corner taker with 170 last season and was constantly putting advantageous balls into the box. 

Potential Fit and Impact at Chelsea

Benjamin Šeško

Šeško’s physical attributes and goal-scoring prowess make him an excellent fit for Chelsea's need for a traditional number nine who can lead the line. In Maresca's possession-based system, Šeško could thrive by holding up the ball and linking play with the midfield, creating space for attacking midfielders and wingers. His presence in the box would offer a reliable target for crosses from wide players.

Additionally, Šeško’s ability to press from the front would align with Maresca's high-pressing philosophy, helping Chelsea regain possession quickly and launch counter-attacks.

Julián Álvarez

Álvarez’s versatility and technical skills make him an ideal fit for Maresca's fluid attacking system. He could operate effectively in various roles, whether as a winger cutting inside, a second striker supporting the main forward, or even as a false nine. Álvarez’s dribbling and creativity would be key in breaking down stubborn defenses, while his pressing ability would ensure Chelsea maintains its high defensive line and recovers possession swiftly.

In a possession-based setup, Álvarez’s quick passing and intelligent movement would enable Chelsea to dominate the midfield and create numerous scoring opportunities, making him a valuable addition to the squad.

Conclusion

Both Benjamin Šeško and Julián Álvarez possess qualities that would enhance Chelsea's squad under Enzo Maresca. Šeško’s physicality and goal-scoring ability offer a traditional striking option, while Álvarez’s versatility and technical skills provide flexibility and creativity.

After watching numerous matches and looking at the supporting data, I believe that Benjamin Šeško would be the best fit. I think he offers something that Chelsea doesn’t have in their ranks. In a possession-based system you need a striker that can do a little bit of everything, but to have a guy with the physical presence of Šeško makes it a little more appetizing for me. With Šeško’s release clause at £55 million, I believe he will be the cheaper option on both the transfer and the salary that will be appetizing for Chelsea’s scouting directors who have implemented a wage structure. 

I think that Šeško has a high ceiling (not to say Álvarez doesn’t), but Šeško is four years younger than Álvarez at 20 and has a bit more room to grow. This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be excited about Álvarez for the reasons illustrated above, but I think Šeško’s profile is much more needed for this squad as Alvarez likes to operate in some of the similar spots as Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer. 

There is something to say about Álvarez being prem proven, and I am sure some Chelsea fans would prefer a guy who is reaching his peak right away, but I think that in this instance Šeško’s traits are easily translatable to the PL style of play. 

Dylan