A short look at Chelsea’s problems at right-back, and whether Jose Bosingwa is the solution.

More than a few eyebrows were raised when Chelsea announced the signing of right-back Jose Bosingwa from Porto for just over £16 million in May.

Chelsea weren’t in desperate need of another right-back and £16 million seemed like an awful lot to pay for one, even by Chelsea’s standards.

They may not have been in desperate need of another right-back, but there is no denying that it has been Chelsea’s problem position in recent years. The likes of Geremi, Diarra, Essien, Ferreira and Beletti have auditioned for the role but failed to make it their own.

The position seems to have a curse hanging over it.

A couple of weeks into the season, Bosingwa has staked his claim for the position, and if you were to grade his efforts so far, an A grade would be given out by the majority of Chelsea fans.

Given license to roam forward, Bosingwa’s marauding runs have become a potent weapon in Chelsea’s armoury.

Able to beat his man and then put a telling cross in, Bosingwa has been key to Chelsea’s early season good form. He has laid on goals for Lampard (v Bordeaux) and Anelka (v Stoke) in recent matches, and got on the score sheet himself on Saturday, albeit via the aid of a deflection.

His contribution was in danger of going unnoticed due to the exploits of his compatriot Deco, but the ex-Barcelona man’s injury has shifted the spotlight onto Bosingwa.

Bosingwa seems to be the solution to a long standing problem. The key word in that sentence being “seems”. While his form has been impressive so far, a look back into recent Chelsea past dictates that caution should be exercised, to save Blues fans getting carried away and eventually, disappointed.

There have been many false dawns at Stamford Bridge – players who have looked like the real deal only to spend the rest of their Chelsea careers struggling to replicate their early highs.

Remember Adrian Mutu? Six goals in his first four games had Chelsea fans salivating at the thought of how many more he would go on to score. Sadly, the only thing Mutu was focused on was scoring his next hit of cocaine – he was sacked for failing a drugs test in October 2005.

Lassana Diarra looked mightily impressive in the right back slot towards the end of the 2006/2007 season – I remember waxing lyrical about him to anyone who would listen. He seemed to be the solution to all our right-back related ills.

One thing worth noting with Bosingwa is that his defensive skills haven’t been tested a great deal so far. For most of his time at the club, he has found himself on the front foot, attacking the opposition’s left back or midfielder.

If the roles become reversed, will his abilities stand up to scrutiny?

Only time will tell if Bosingwa is to be consigned to the morgue labelled ‘Victims of the Chelsea Right-Back Curse’.