On each of the first four days of last week, VfB announced a transfer — and on Saturday: Jeff Chabot moved from relegated Cologne to VfB. We inquired about him at FC Cologne and his previous stations in Italy.
The fact that VfB can announce the first transfers so early in the summer break, just two days after the last matchday, is exceptional and due to the fact that they have been planning for the European Cup and for several weeks now, also for the Champions League. The last time I introduced so many players in such a short period, Michael Reschke had just gone shopping with Daimler’s millions. This time it’s different: three of the newcomers are free transfers, VfB probably didn’t pay much for one other new signing and the player we are focusing on in this article came for a reasonable sum of about four million euros: center-back Jeff Chabot from FC Cologne. We will take a closer look at the other new arrivals — Nick Woltemade, Jannik Keitel, Justin Diel, and Stefan Drljača — in the coming days. But for now, let’s focus on the man who successfully prevented Serhou Guirassy from scoring in both matches of the past season.
Jeff, whose full name is Julian Jeffrey Gaston but prefers to be called Jeff, was born on February 12, 1998, in Hanau, southern Hesse. He took his first footballing steps in the Rhine-Main area, in Darmstadt and Frankfurt. After a year in Nuremberg, he returned to Frankfurt, moved to the youth academy of the Leipzig beverage market, and made one appearance for their second team. Two years in the Netherlands followed, one each at Sparta Rotterdam and FC Groningen, before he — at the age of 21 and with a considerable number of clubs in his cv — moved to Serie A with Sampdoria Genoa. According to Sampdoria expert and journalist Stephen Kasiewicz, he was not planned as a regular player in Genoa but was still seen as a promising U21 national player. In the 2019/2020 season, he made only eight appearances for Sampdoria, five of which were for the full 90 minutes. Stephen explains that Chabot had mainly speed issues during these appearances, particularly severe during a 5–1 defeat at Lazio in January 2020. Ciro Immobile completely outplayed him, and to top it off, he was sent off with a red card after 73 minutes. Sampdoria finished the season in 15th place, and Chabot was loaned to newly promoted Spezia Calcio.
In the Relegation Battle
Opinions about Chabot at La Spezia, located roughly halfway between Genoa and Florence on the Ligurian coast, vary among our experts. Luca Vaccaro from Gazetta della Spezia reports that the newly promoted Serie A team had little time to assemble a first-division-ready squad and therefore loaned Chabot from Genoa. His lack of speed again caused problems despite a total of 25 Serie A and two Coppa Italia appearances. Spezia fan and YouTuber Matteo has much better memories of Chabot, even though he also mentions the same weaknesses. He notes that Spezia, who fought against relegation in Serie B in the past season, were considered the top relegation candidate back then and struggled to sign experienced Serie A players. Matteo was convinced that Chabot’s physical presence could help Spezia in their top-flight debut. In the end, the team achieved the same 15th place as Sampdoria the year before, which was a great success for Spezia. Towards the end of the season, Spezia was sold to a new owner who made many changes in the staff. Matteo is unsure if the old owners would have been willing to pay the transfer fee for Chabot, but the new ones were not, so he returned to Genoa.
The second stint in the 2021/2022 season did not go much better. He accumulated five yellow cards in eleven games for Sampdoria and only started four times. The numerous defeats in a season that once again saw Sampdoria finish 15th likely further affected his confidence, suggests Stephen, especially as opposing coaches supposedly identified Chabot as a weak point in the defense. Overall, Chabot did not succeed in Serie A despite the relatively successful loan spell at La Spezia, either due to tactical weaknesses or because he did not feel comfortable in Italy. The return to Germany, in hindsight, obviously helped him, says Stephen, Sampdoria fans, whose club faced existential financial problems in 2023, relegated as the last-placed team to Serie B and struggled against relegation there before failing early in the promotion playoffs, probably do not have many significant memories of Chabot.
It was quite different at 1. FC Cologne, who loaned Chabot in January 2022 for a year and a half. For more about Chabot’s time before moving to Cologne, I recommend this (German) article on effzeh.com by Thomas Reinscheid, with whom I also spoke for this profile on Chabot. When Rafael Czichos moved to Chicago Fire in the USA, Chabot was initially brought in as a backup to the established center-backs Luca Kilian and Timo Hübers. Expectations were low, says Thomas, but the 18-month loan gave Chabot enough time to settle in. In the second half of the season, when FC secured a spot in the Conference League despite a defeat on the last matchday in Stuttgart, he made only four appearances. He again appeared sluggish in the Bundesliga, reiterates Thomas, and did not impress in the few appearances.
From Backup to Doorman
Things initially did not improve for Chabot: he was sent off after 20 minutes for an unnecessary last-man foul in the Conference League qualification — just like with Genoa against Lazio back then — and to make matters worse, he injured his ankle in the 0–0 draw against VfB, missing not only the European Cup matches but almost the entire rest of the first half of the season. He returned to the squad shortly before the World Cup break in early November. However, during the long preparation for the second half of the season, he managed to transform into what Thomas describes as “Chabot 2.0, as he suddenly became a completely different player. Strong in ground and aerial duels, with a good sense of positioning, and technically sound: this was the center-back they had envisioned at the time of his signing and now received.” He displaced Luca Kilian from the starting lineup and, according to Thomas, along with goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe, ensured that Cologne was never in relegation danger, earning him the nickname “doorman” because hardly anyone got past him. However, he could not prevent this year’s relegation, even though he was the only outfield player who consistently performed at Bundesliga level, says Thomas. He also established himself as a leader, missing only two games due to suspensions and also leading on the pitch, sometimes even venturing forward. Therefore, hardly anyone in Cologne blames him for the move after the relegation.
The fact that Chabot only became a regular and leader in the Bundesliga at almost 25 years old in early 2023 is a great example of why players should not be written off at 20 if they have not yet established themselves in the Bundesliga. His development from a physically present defender to one with spatial awareness is certainly exciting. Stephen still noted positioning weaknesses in Genoa, and the nine yellow cards, a yellow-red card, and the unnecessary red cards suggest that he could only compensate for his lack of speed and wrong positioning with fouls for a long time. Certainly, he also lacked match practice in the one and a half seasons in Genoa, as well as in the first twelve months in Cologne until the World Cup break. All experts cite his aerial ability as a strength, which is not surprising for a center-back standing 195 cm tall, although he rarely appeared offensively in Cologne. Both in the air and on the ground, Chabot was one of the strongest players in duels last season, and he continuously improved his duel success rate over the past years. Due to his forward-oriented style of defending, he must also win many duels to achieve ball possession, says Thomas. His pass completion rate also increased in recent seasons to 90 percent, especially for short and medium passes. His strengths and weaknesses can also be well seen in this graphic from FBref.com:
Demonstrated Potential for Improvement
So how suitable is he for the build-up play practiced under Hoeneß, which involves short and sometimes risky passes between the goalkeeper and defenders to lure the opponent into pressing? Chabot can indeed come under pressure, explains Thomas, but with a bit more time, he often finds good and progressive solutions. This might change with better teammates. Additionally, Chabot, which I haven’t mentioned yet, is left-footed — a trait only shared in the center-back position by Hiroki Ito. Chabot mostly played in a back four in Cologne, explains Thomas, but he trusts him to also play the role of the left center-back in a back three. Chabot was also part of a back four in La Spezia, which defended very high against the ball and involved the center-backs a lot in the build-up play. Matteo is also sure that his time at Spezia Calcio helped in his development and, like Thomas, highlights Chabot’s mentality, calling him a “serious” player. Thomas believes Chabot’s qualities and mentality make him capable of establishing himself at VfB despite the increased competition.
How significant the competition will be remains to be seen, as VfB still needs to generate revenue this transfer period, and Hiroki Ito is often mentioned as a candidate for sale. Given that Ito sometimes covered for Maxi Mittelstädt as left-back, there is a need on the left side of the defense at VfB regardless, possibly even after Chabot’s signing. Whether this will be the case, we will find out over the course of the summer. Regardless, the transfer is definitely sensible for many reasons. Wohlgemuth strengthens the left side of the defense with a manageable transfer fee, not only quantitatively but with a player who has developed into an established Bundesliga player over the past 18 months. Like Maxi Mittelstädt, he brings a mix of experience — even in personally challenging situations — leadership qualities, and development potential. Even if he may not have the potential of someone like Jamie Leweling, his development in Cologne has shown that he is capable of improving. And who would be better suited to unlock Chabot’s potential than a coach who has awakened so many players from their performance slumber at VfB in the past 13 months? Of course, there is no guarantee that he will succeed in the coming season. However, Chabot has the necessary prerequisites.
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