With the newspapers and media reporting that new boss Graham Potter isn’t keen on summer signing Dennis Zakaria, the spotlight on Chelsea’s midfield has become more intense.
In N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, Chelsea have two midfielders on the wrong side of 30. Meanwhile in Carney Chukwuemeka and Connor Gallagher, they have two younger prospects who still need development to become first team regulars. Mason Mount is also far too attacking to be considered a presence in the centre of the park unless Graham Potter turns to a 4-3-3 more regularly.
This leads Chelsea’s recruitment team with one clear objective going into next summer, and possibly even January 2023: Bolster the midfield. Here’s some options they should be looking at.
Enzo Fernández
Currently the name on the tip of pretty much every European football fan’s tongues, Enzo Jeremías Fernández only arrived at Benfica in the summer but he’s outgrown Portuguese football very quickly.
The Argentine, who came through at River Plate under Marcelo Gallardo, is a central midfielder that nearly completely negates defensive work. He leaves it mostly to his midfield partner, Florentino Luis.
Stats do suggest though that the 21-year-old is pulling his weight, with only five other players in the Benfica squad averaging more tackles and interceptions p90 in Primeira.
However, that’s not what has got people hyped about this midfield wonderkid, what has got Liverpool supposedly interested is the fact that Fernández is quite simply a sensational passer who has already positioned himself as one of the continent’s best in this department.
In the league, he’s averaging just under 10 progressive passes p90 according to FBREF which would rank two more than Mateo Kovačić (7.76), and nearly double that of next-best Jorginho. Benfica’s star is exceptionally quick at spotting vertical passes, and long balls in behind for teammates.
That’s not suggest he isn’t secure in possession though as even more impressively, Fernández is currently averaging a 88.9% pass accuracy. For context, that would rank 18th in the Premier League, with none of those above him completing even close to half his progressive passes p90.
It’s a ridiculous statistic, that shouldn’t distract from the fact that across the league and Champions League he has three goals and assists already.
He could still improve in the amount of carries and dribbles he attempts, but right now it feels like nit-picking to poke holes in Fernández’ game. The only thing that should stop Chelsea purchasing this wonderkid is a Joao Felix-style transfer fee, or another club getting in first.
Moises Caicedo
Moises Caicedo is a name that will be getting linked to Chelsea regardless of any concrete talks, likely because the Ecuadorian moved to Potter’s Brighton in 2021.
Since that move from K.Beerschot in Belgium, 20-year-old Caicedo has had to wait patiently for his turn in Premier League football. Despite a lack of significant injuries, he only made his league debut in April of 2022.
The midfielder’s trajectory has shot up since that match against Arsenal, where Brighton won 1-2. He’s started all 11 games this season, and is profiling well as a destroyer.
He currently sits second in Roberto de Zerbi’s squad for tackles and interceptions p90, and has won a fairly impressive 63% of his aerial duels. While the statistics may not support it, the young starlet does like to push forward and exploit space in front of him.
This sounds fairly similar to N’golo Kante, a player Chelsea will probably lose either to another club or his broken body forcing him to retire at current rate. The 31-year-old has missed 25 games so far with injury in 2022 and is set to be out until after the World Cup.
With Kante’s contract up in 2023, signing Caicedo as a replacement makes a lot of sense, and while he may not possess the superhuman defensive nature the Frenchman has provided in the Premier League, Brighton’s midfielder makes up for it in his passing.
Kante’s passing has been a frustrating topic for Chelsea fans in the past few years, and even at such a young age Caicedo’s vision and completion rate has got analysts excited. In raw numbers from the past 365 days, Caicedo already matches Kante for pass accuracy at 85.8%, and is dispossessed half as often as the World Cup winner.
These are exciting trends for a young player, and one that Chelsea should continue to monitor as recent reports have suggested.
Ismaël Bennacer
If the recent news that Ismaël Bennacer is stalling on a new contract with AC Milan with an eye on the move to the Premier League hasn’t caught the eye of Chelsea’s recruitment team, they need to be fired.
The 24-year-old Algerian has been a mainstay at Milan for three and a half seasons, since he moved from Arsenal first to Tours in Ligue 2 and then Empoli, helping the latter get promoted to Serie A.
Bennacer has everything in his locker apart from the final third output. He’s a solid reader of the game, completing 1.1 interceptions p90 this season and averaging over 1.5 across his Milan career. He’s also exceptionally good in tight spaces too, as at 5ft9 he rides tackles well and has a good burst of pace.
In that respect, he’s reminiscent of Marco Verratti. Not only in his frequent yet tidy slide tackles, but also in his selflessness. Both players are well rounded, but they do not venture towards the final third.
Whatever you think of Jorginho, he is the only Chelsea midfielder who has little impetus to push and support an attack. Having Bennacer in the side, who is more mobile than the Italian even if less effective in his passing, would be very helpful for Graham Potter.
It was just in August 2022 that Rossoneri manager Stefano Pioli said his midfield rock has the qualities to be a “complete player” in the heart of the pitch. If Chelsea are smart, they should take advantage of the fact Bennacer’s contract is up in 2024 and he looks ready to take on another challenge.
Youssouf Fofana
Many Chelsea fans felt letdown by the club when Aurélien Tchouaméni was able to move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2022, after the young Frenchman was heavily rumoured to move to Stamford Bridge a year earlier.
What better way for the club to make up for it then, than to sign the midfield partner that at times outshone the new Galactico in his final season at Monaco. Youssouf Fofana is just now getting the credit he deserves for being a talented, well-rounded and physical midfielder.
He’s made over 100 appearances in Ligue 1, with a bulk of that coming for Les Monégasques since moving there in the same window Tchouaméni arrived. He doesn’t turn 24-years-old until January, and while some Chelsea fans may be getting flashbacks to when they signed Tiémoué Bakayoko as Liverpool nicked Fabinho, Fofana should put rest at ease.
He has admitted before that “scoring is not my main role”, but in every other part of the pitch the youngster has been brilliant. He has been braver in his passing this season, and he’s completing 1.4 dribbles p90.
The real stats that should be taken seriously though are ones from last year, in which Fofana comes out very favourably alongside his former midfield partner.
Considering he already speaks English, he lines up as a near-perfect fit for Potter. He may not provide consistent vertical passing but in his ball carrying, defensive presence, aerial win rate (54%) and reading of the game, he’d be an excellent option for Chelsea.
Edson Álvarez
If Potter wants a pure, defensive midfielder then he may cast his eye over previously-linked midfielder Edson Álvarez.
The Mexican has been with Ajax since the 2019/20 season and was brought in as the club intensified their recruitment across South America. Since joining, the 25-year-old has played nearly exclusively in midfield, in contrast to his time at CB with CF América.
He averages around 4.2 tackles and interceptions p90 for Ajax in the Eredivisie, which when adjusted for possession actually rises to 5 p90. What makes him stand out though, rather than charging around making tackles, is his reading of the game.
It’s been noted before by Ajax fans how well he can cover passing lanes, as well as making tactical fouls. Álvarez has received 13 yellow cards since August 2020 in the league.
However, it’s also been noted by those fans that his passing is limited. Unlike a Bennacer or a Fernández, Álvarez doesn’t add much in the progressive department. That’s not surprising as he has moved up the pitch from centre back, but it does put question marks around the move.
Not every team needs to have a 10/10 player in every position on the pitch of course. Chelsea fans will remember the similarly limited Claude Makelele, and Álvarez himself survives in the Ajax team to allow everyone else around him to excel.
If Chelsea sign him, he may allow his midfield partners to play more advanced knowing they are covered in defence. They will just need to make up for that by providing him a simple passing option in possession.
The Eredivisie is the weakest league that any players mentioned operate in too, and while Antony and Lisandro Martinez have excelled for Manchester United so far, that doesn’t mean the transfer flops like Myron Boadu and Donyell Malen will stop coming.
Still, if Álvarez comes in to play a simple role in a way that lets Chelsea improve as a team, Graham Potter will not obsess over his weaknesses and may well be able to coach improvements.
These are just a few midfielders that we have reviewed, do not be surprised to see Chelsea go straight for the jugular and spend an obscene amount on the likes of Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham.
Furthermore, Sources have told ChelseaFC365 that Todd Boehly still retains an interest in Frenkie De Jong who Chelsea tried to land last summer. However, with the new appointments at board level and a completely different managerial and coaching setup, nothing can be assured when it comes to a potential revisit to Frenkie De Jong and his ever sticky situation at Barcelona.
