Attacking midfield gems that Chelsea should consider signing

Whether you think it’s right or not, under the new ownership it has become increasingly clear Chelsea want to buy up as many high-potential footballers as possible.

The recent acquisition of Strasbourg by Clearlake Capital will only increase the hunger for young talent, with another club within the family available to send players who aren’t quite up to the level of Champions League football as of yet.

Diego Moreira, Malo Gusto, Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, David Fofana, Ishé Samuels-Smith, Alex Matos, Cesare Casedei, Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Zak Sturge, Omari Hutchinson; The list of teenagers that have been acquired in so far has been astonishing.  

In the spirit of this recruitment drive, here are five options Chelsea should consider (or likely already have considered) as another option either this summer or within the next 12 months.  

Elleise Ben Seghir

Despite having a well-earned reputation as a breeder of the best talent in Europe, Chelsea have signed just two senior players from Ligue 1 since 2021. Malo Gusto, who is yet to appear in a Blues’ shirt, and Beniot Badiashile, more of a proven success.

His former club, Monaco, has another all-star in the pipeline. He may not be as ferociously talented as Kylian Mbappé was when he made his debut at the club aged 16, but Elleise Ben Seghir has got off to an excellent start. He made his senior debut at 17-years-old, last December, and it’s fair to say he made a strong impact.

Like Mbappé, he spent most of his youth on less professional sides. However, this didn’t stop him almost instantly becoming a first team player following his debut. The attacking midfielder missed just four of the remaining 22 league games of the season.

He added three more goals and assists in that time, and doesn’t turn 19 until next year. Superb in tight spaces, great at receiving the ball between the lines and flowing with confidence; Ben Seghir would be a sensational early pickup, before his value quadruples.

Bilal El Khannous

This 19-year-old Moroccan playing for Genk may seem like a rogue shout, but it wouldn’t be shocking if Chelsea, or another top six club snaps him up. Bilal El Khannous just finished the 22/23 league season named as the winner of the Belgian Golden Shoe, awarded to the leagues’ best player. 

While 0.16 goals and assists p90 in the league isn’t awe-inspiring, the midfielder made the fifth most league appearances in the Genk squad last season. Genk are also a team that finished top of the first phase of the league season, what Premier League fans are used to, and only failed to win the top flight in the dying minutes of the final day against Royal Antwerp.

El Khannous is well rounded, tactically astute, and is helpful in building attacks with clever passes and pressing. Some Belgian fans believe he could drop in as a number #8 in the future, away from his #10 position in Genks 4-2-3-1 system.

Either way, this is a player you can expect to hear more about very soon.

Lazar Samardžić

Born and raised in Berlin, Lazar Samardžić was once hailed as Germany’s next superstar. He spent 11 years at Hertha Berlin and came through as part of something of a golden generation for the club, before switching to RB Leipzig for a year in 2020. Seven appearances later, he was sold for €3.00m to Udinese, a €2.50m profit for the club. 

Today, the 21-year-old represents Serbia on the national stage and has made over 63 appearances for the Italian side in two seasons. He’s also been one of their most impactful players, hitting nine goals and assists last season in a side that finished the Serie A campaign with just 47 goals.

A left-footed, tricky playmaker with a penchant for good ball-striking, the former Germany youth international has outperformed his expected goals two seasons running and many attribute that to simply good shooting over any streak of luck.

He needs to work on the defensive side of his game, but big clubs are already taking notice. Lazio and Milan have been hotly linked, and should he be the sixth Serb to represent Chelsea, the Blues may need to act fast. 

Heorhiy Sudakov

Some of us will never get tired of watching football. If you feel that way, you probably tuned in to the recent U21 Euros that took place in Romania and Georgia. On the 2nd of July at the Cluj Arena in the former of those countries, Ukraine were expected to head out of the tournament in the quarter finals against France’s impossibly talented selection of wonderkids.

Instead, assisted by Chelsea’s own Mykhailo Mudryk, Ukraine beat the French aside 3-1, and scoring two of those goals was Shakhtar’s Heorhiy Sudakov. They were his second and third goals of the tournament, with the 20-year-old shining on his second in particular. 

He’s had a strong season in Ukraine’s Premier League which has continued despite the Russian invasion, but he’s been closer to the war than other players in the country. Last March, shortly after fighting broke out, Shakhtar’s reserve coach Valente revealed the young star was sheltering in a bunker. He called him ‘the most talented player I ever coached’ on social media. 

After an impressive summer tournament, perhaps now is the time for the seven-capped senior international to move away from his home country. Chelsea already have a Ukrainian wonderkid they can ask about Sudakov’s potential.

Marouan Azarkan

The least well-known name has been saved til last, but if anything, Marouan Azarkan has had the best season of all the names mentioned. The 21-year-old hit 11 goals and assists for Excelsior, a Dutch side surviving their return to the Eredivisie by four points. The Dutchman, who has made his debut for Moroccans U23s, has just moved to FC Utrecht off the back a stellar season.

However, this is Dutch football, and the financial might of the Premier League is enough to swipe even the most prized player away 12, or even six months after a transfer.

Another left footer, Azarkan played off the right last season, but liked to drift inside. He spent 11 years at Feyenoord, and was only at Excelsior on loan since appearing there in 2021, and hit 24 G/A for them in the Eerste Divisie in 21/22, the second tier of Dutch Football.

His progress should be monitored closely at Utrecht, as it’s rare for a player outside of the AZ, Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord in the Netherlands to hit double figures in goal contributions. The players who usually do, tend to succeed. Recent examples include Loïs Openda (Vitesse), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Groningen), and Chelsea’s own Armando Broja.

Alex Barker

8 thoughts on “Attacking midfield gems that Chelsea should consider signing

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