Davide Zappacosta to Chelsea: The man to cross for Alvaro Morata?

What will new signing Davide Zappacosta add to Chelsea? Adam Bate picks out the key statistics and seeks out the views of those in the know to find out…

Chelsea have been looking to add to their wing-back options all summer and have made a breakthrough on the final day of the transfer window with the £25.8m signing of Davide Zappacosta.

The 25-year-old Italian is expected to challenge Victor Moses for his position but what exactly will the Premier League champions be getting for their money?

Gianluca Odennino of Turin-based newspaper La Stampa is an admirer. „Zappacosta replaced Matteo Darmian when he went to Manchester United and he is a good player who has attracted interest from Juventus in recent years,“ Odennino tells Sky Sports. „He can defend well and is capable of covering the whole right flank. He is a serious and smart boy.“
Matteo Pedrosi, journalist with Corriere dello Sport and a Torino fan, agrees. „He does the two phases very well,“ he tells Sky Sports. „He is very attentive in the defensive phase but is always looking to attack too. His best qualities are his running and his strength but he is also precise in his crossing and passing, and has a decent shot. Davide is a serious professional.“

That work ethic has helped Zappacosta to improve, progressing through the leagues. He was 22 before making his Serie A debut with Atalanta having spent three seasons at Avellino in the second tier. Fabio Esposito coached Zappacosta during his time at Avellino and recalls someone with a good attitude who strived hard to develop his game.

„I have great memories of Davide,“ Esposito tells Sky Sports. „He has always been a player whose athleticism was a strength and that has helped his smooth progress. In time, thanks also to the coaches who have trained him, he has greatly improved his work in the defensive phase of the game. That was perhaps his weak point when he was a younger player.“

Zappacosta was used by Torino in a wing-back role last season and, having been called up by Conte for Italy towards the end of the previous campaign, he has since established himself there in Gian Piero Ventura’s national squad too. But, as Esposito suggests, Torino’s switch to a back four did not play to his strengths. No matter. Conte has a different role for him.
Indeed, Zappacosta is well suited to the demands of the wing-back role at Stamford Bridge and there is one particular aspect of the player’s game – perhaps his greatest strength – that is likely to appeal to the Chelsea coach. „He is a quality crosser of the ball,“ adds Odennino. That attribute has gained added significance following the arrival of Alvaro Morata.

Morata’s goal against Everton, a header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s right-wing cross, was the trademark finish of a player who scored seven headed goals in La Liga last season. It also highlighted the sort of service that the striker requires to maximise his effectiveness. Conte knows it makes sense for Chelsea to put greater emphasis on their crossing this season.
The club ranked rock bottom for cross completion in the Premier League last season with crosses finding their target only 15.9 per cent of the time. The signing of Morata will help to change that statistic. He is the only player to score with two headers so far this season, already matching Diego Costa’s tally of headed goals just three games into the campaign.

But Zappacosta’s delivery will also be a factor. He ranked fifth in Serie A in terms of the number of chances created from crosses last season and provided more assists from crosses than any other defender in Italy. Impressive statistics that help to explain precisely what Conte will expect. „Chelsea have definitely made a great purchase,“ adds Pedrosi.Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.