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I’ve never heard of Stefano Denswil until about 15 minutes ago, but now that I know that we have at least one thing in common, I’m ready to embrace him as a brother and live all the highs and lows of Chelsea Football Club together. Chelsea fans have to stick together, right?
Denswil’s not just a fan however, he is also a player, and one who’s currently plying his trade at the leaders of the Belgian top flight, Club Brugge, where he’s established himself as a first-choice center back over the last three years.
“Everyone has a dream club and I also have: Chelsea; it would be nice if I could ever play there, as a defender you really learn to defend there.”
Stefano Denswil; source: Fox Sports via Football Oranje
A graduate of the Ajax academy system, the left-footed 24-year-old has already won titles in both the Netherlands and Belgium, and is apparently keen on generating some transfer interest for the next step in his career. It’s unlikely that such a bold attempt would be successful, especially with 2.5 years still left on his contract, but he was linked with Everton, Milan, and Monaco two summers ago, and did actually come very close to moving to the Premier League last summer. A loan move to Brighton & Hove Albion fell through in the final hours of the transfer window, after Club Brugge pulled out of a deal due to an injury to another player.
“I was open for conversations with other teams. That’s why I traveled to Brighton. It remains my ambition to step up to a higher level. Only all parties must be able to agree, which was not the case.”
-Stefano Denswil; source: Club Brugge via Sport Witness
Denswil re-committed himself to the Brugge cause at that point and that looks to be paying off with another title. But it sounds like we could yet be hearing his name in the future.
Here’s a highlights video, which obviously makes him look good both in terms of athletic prowess and defensive aptitude, as well as skill on the ball (free kicks, long passes from the left side of the defensive line, etc).