The Art of Control: Oriane Jean-François’s Role at Chelsea
Oriane Jean-François is Chelsea's third summer signing and one that could be the key to success for Sonia Bompastor
The Sonia Bompastor revolution continues as Chelsea announces their third signing of the summer window in Oriane Jean-François. Despite having a new head coach only fairly recently, the club's rapid transfer activity for the past few weeks suggests some pre-planning with Bompastor’s input. It's clear that Chelsea have fully embraced the style of play Bompastor wants to implement, with the signings reflecting this vision — none more so than that of Oriane Jean-François.
The 22-year-old France international had sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in October 2023 that kept her out of action for the 2023/24 season. We haven’t seen her play for quite a while but Chelsea signing Jean-François indicates that they’ve done their due diligence and that she should be ready for pre-season.
Stylistically, there’s a lot for the English club to like here: Jean-François is technically proficient and tactically sound with adept positional play mechanisms. She is a holding midfielder who plays primarily as a No. 6, holds her position and looks to redistribute possession to allow the more creative players to flourish. She’s a good short passer who can play between the defensive lines in tight spaces and an even better off-the-ball runner, with a special talent for slipping into the channels and getting her team out of close quarters. Importantly for a Chelsea side that lived off its transitions last season, she was also an intelligent piece in PSG’s pressing patterns.
In terms of Jean-François’ role, it is obvious that she’s been brought in to play at the base of midfield. The French midfielder is an out-and-out No. 6, a player that will provide Bompastor a base to build from and a player that can redistribute possession under pressure. This gives Chelsea a new way of playing out of pressure and distributing out from the back.
When you look at this pizza chart, you’ll notice that she’s clearly someone who teams play through. Being in the 99th percentile of touches, high pass completion, and attempted rates when compared to other midfielders in Division 1 Feminine (2022/2023) suggest that Paris Saint-Germain relied on Jean-François to progress the ball up the pitch. Though being in the 79th percentile for progressive passes isn’t too high, it certainly indicates a player who uses her passing range to get the ball out to the more expansive players. This is the role that Damaris Egurrola carried out at Lyon under Bompastor, where she wasn’t expected to be the chief architect but rather an important facilitator to link defence with her more attack-minded midfield partners.
Take this example against Olympique Lyonnais, you can see Jackie Groenen receiving possession and immediately playing it back to her defender. Jean-François looks to move horizontally into space, walking into a pentagon of Lyon players seemingly trapped. However, the French midfielder scans the pitch behind her several times before taking possession and sees the empty space behind the Lyon midfield. Jean-François passes the ball to Sakina Karchaoui before running in behind and taking the return pass into space. In just a few seconds, Paris Saint-Germain are suddenly in an advantageous position.
Bompastor’s vision of her midfield is to have a holding midfielder whose primary responsibility is to ensure defensive solidarity and passing. Alongside players like Erin Cuthbert, Catarina Macario, and Sjoeke Nüsken, Jean-François should be the perfect foil to allow them to thrive in their favoured positions. Someone like Cuthbert and Macario excel in their movement and can effectively drive through the final third if they receive possession in dangerous areas. Equally, a player like Nüsken finds space in pockets and can thrive off the deeper passes that Jean-François can make. Referencing the earlier chart, it depicts her progressive passing as a secondary trait, which in this case makes it a bonus rather than a necessity because her primary task is to hold position and anchor the midfield.
Here, Jean-François and PSG are positioned much higher in Lyon’s final third and after a short passing exchange, the midfielder plays a smart lofted pass onto Jade De Guilly’s back post run. This sort of thinking and passing ability helps Chelsea when playing against deep blocks. If we look at the structure of the potential Chelsea midfield, neither Cuthbert nor Macario are dynamic passers, so having someone with some creativity in passing will ease the burden. There could of course, still be another midfield signing in a more creative ilk, but if we’re to assume that this current crop of midfielders is final, then Jean-François becomes ever more important.
Lastly, Jean-François’ defensive game is appreciated, but there are some concerns. She is not the most physically gifted — the stats above showcase her as less than ideal when it comes to blocks and clearances. Now, part of this can be determined by PSG’s possession dominance against 80% of the league so there is naturally a less frequent need to clear the ball or engage in duels closer to PSG’s box, but there is a case to be made that she could struggle against quicker attackers.
In both these clips, there are similarities in Jean-François’ early and aggressive push into the opposition player where they’re able to play the ball around her and get the ball forward. One could suggest from the footage that she may struggle in 1 v 1 duels if isolated with no backup, so that is something to watch out for.
However, her footballing brain and scanning are easily her greatest defensive traits. Jean-François is constantly looking around the pitch to assess her teammates’ and opposition players’ positions to think of her next move both on and off the ball. While not shown in the data, she can intercept passes and dispossess players before turning it into a transitional move. When executed correctly, Jean-François can turn any attack into a counter-attacking move for her team.
This first clip shows Jean-François winning the ball off Lindsey Horan near the touchline and putting PSG in an attacking position, getting them closer to the box. The speed in turning the ball over to PSG’s advantage to drive towards the opposition box is quick and is something Chelsea can benefit from — especially with their pacy wingers. The possibility of an inverting Lucy Bronze can negate some of her negative defensive concerns and allow Jean-François the odd adventures forward to finish these types of moves.
The second clip demonstrates a situation where PSG control possession again after winning the ball back to a calm game state. The need to control the ball and dictate the tempo becomes vitally important and for me, heavily influences the outcome of the game. If you have a player who can control the tempo, then you’re able to shift the opponent to your will.
Jean-François, a young and tenacious 22-year-old defensive midfielder, aligns perfectly with the type of players Chelsea typically targets. Though she will need to adapt to the pace and physicality of the WSL, there's no reason to believe that Jean-François can't succeed at Chelsea — especially if their possession-oriented style of play allows them to control the ball more frequently. Chelsea’s third summer signing could prove to be their most crucial addition yet.
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images