Tino Anjorin: The Chelsea youngster who could have a ‘similar impact to Colwill’
(Image: Getty Images)
Brady Frost, Feature Writer
Twitter: @brady0894
Another promising Chelsea youngster has joined Huddersfield Town on loan, but is the hype around Tino Anjorin justified? We spoke to Paree from the podcast The Chelsea Spot, which covers Chelsea’s academy to learn more.
Huddersfield’s connection with Chelsea appears to have paid dividends once again as another promising young player has joined The Terriers on loan.
Tino Anjorin, the latest in the line from Chelsea’s talented academy has moved to Huddersfield Town on loan for the second half of the campaign, following his return from an initial loan at Lokomotiv Moscow earlier in the season.
The 20-year-old, who appeared in the Europa League for the Russian club arrives with a lot of hype but for good reason. Ralf Rangnick, who brought Anjorin to Lokomotiv, when he was the club’s head of sports and development, described the player as the ‘next Kevin De Bruyne’. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has invited him to train with the first team on several occasions, he’s appeared in the Champions League for Chelsea and was named on the bench in the London side’s Champions League final victory over Manchester City.
Seen as an attacking midfielder who can also play in multiple positions across the front line, Anjorin’s adaptability bodes well for Huddersfield Town, given what is expected from attacking players by the manager. Carlos Corberan, who was asked in his pre-match press conference about the player ahead of the FA Cup game against Barnsley spoke of his versatility. He said:
“He is one very talented player. He can play as a winger, he can play as a number 10 – which for me I would consider as his main position – and he can play a 7, so he can give you the three options in front of the attack.”
The new signing is yet to join up with the rest of the squad as he recovers from a fractured metatarsal and is expected to remain at Chelsea until the middle of February, at which point he’ll head up to Huddersfield and become a part of the playing squad.
So, on the surface it seems like a coup for Town, but will he give Carlos Corberan’s side an extra dimension to help a playoff push?
We spoke to Paree, from the podcast The Chelsea Spot, which covers Chelsea’s academy to learn more about Anjorin and what he can bring to Huddersfield Town.
Tino spent the first half of the season on loan at Lokomotiv Moscow but returned to Chelsea following a fractured metatarsal. Photo source: Getty Images
What type of player are Huddersfield Town getting in Tino Anjorin and what do you make of the move?
Huddersfield Town are absolutely getting one of the best academy talents Chelsea have ever produced. He's an attacking midfielder but when playing in a three at the back formation he's likely to play as one of the inside forwards where he's able to be that link between the midfield and attack. Personally, I think it's a great move for him. He arguably should have gone on loan a bit earlier in his career, but he decided to try and push into the first team Chelsea squad.
He was on loan at Lokomotiv Moscow in the first half of the season with an option for the Russian club to sign him permanently, how is viewed by Chelsea in regards to his potential?
With the changing of managers from Lampard to Tuchel and the high level of competition he had in front of him, it was always going to be a difficult task and he simply had to go on loan this season. His first 6 months were at Lokomotiv Moscow where current Manchester United Head Coach Ralf Rangnick had a huge impact in him joining the Russian side, but a slow start to extremely new surroundings and a big injury meant he couldn't gain that much momentum.
Despite that, he still managed to impact games off the bench with him scoring a wonderful goal from the edge of the box in the Europa League. He's simply at the stage where he needs as many minutes as possible at the top level, and one of the best sides in the Championship is a perfect destination for him to show the world what he really can do.
How would you describe his playing style?
He certainly has a unique playing style, one which has been compared to Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the past. Despite being very strong and physical, he has incredible dribbling abilities and at the Premier League 2 level, he found it too easy to shrug off any opposition players.
His main strength is definitely his finishing and eye for goal. Former Chelsea academy coach and assistant to Frank Lampard - Jody Morris - described Tino as one of the best finishers at the club, and this was at the same time we had players like Eden Hazard, Pedro and Michy Batshuayi. If he's 1v1 with the keeper or arriving into the box, it's a huge shock if the ball isn't in the back of the net. Despite these strengths, the best part is that he plays unselfishly and is always looking to pass to a teammate if they are in a better position, so throughout the season he normally racks up a huge number of goals and assists. There aren't actually that many weaknesses with Tino that come to mind and it's probably more about refining his game to professional football.
However, if I was to be extremely picky it would probably be that in a few games if he's not getting the ball a lot and he doesn't feel like he's affecting the game, he can sometimes get a bit frustrated just like most footballers would.
Tino made his England U20 debut in October 2021 against Italy. Photo source: Instagram
Huddersfield Town have signed a few Chelsea players on loan now, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill being recent examples. Do you think Anjorin can have a similar impact to Colwill, who’s impressed this season?
I've watched a lot of Huddersfield Town this season just because of Levi Colwill, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the defender. even with my very high expectations and I'm sure you all have too!
I absolutely think he can have a similar impact to Colwill, and in fact, Anjorin may even find it easier in some senses because he is more physical (not that Levi isn't) and therefore the Championship hopefully won't come as too much of an instant shock to him. He's played in the Champions League and Europa League, and trained under top managers such as Tuchel and Lampard for a long time, so there's no reason to suggest that he won't be able to rip apart the league, with all due respect to a very competitive division.
Do you think he can make an immediate impact with Huddersfield?
The only thing Huddersfield Town fans could be wary of is that sometimes January loans are very risky and it's hard for the players to totally settle in, but with Levi next to him and the team winning most weeks I'm sure they'll make the process very easy for him and he'll do the talking on the pitch.
Anjorin has had a couple of injuries and it's the reason for Chelsea being so careful with him, but he's worked very hard in the last two seasons to sort out any problems and make sure the chances of injury have decreased. All in all, he's a player with so much talent and I hope he helps Huddersfield Town reach their targets this season just like Levi has done so far!
