Journalist Dean Jones claims Chelsea’s are looking for a centre-midfielder this January and has expressed his concern over the Blues’ current shape in the middle of the park.
Jones hinted that Chelsea will be looking to bring in a new centre-midfielder due to a raft of players being unavailable, hampering Graham Potter’s options in the middle of the park.
Chelsea will return to action on Tuesday against Bournemouth in their first game since the World Cup break.
Following a torrid run heading into the tournament, Chelsea went without a win in five league games, including four consecutive defeats as they slipped to eighth in the table.
However, it looks as though they will be returning with a potentially depleted squad, and with Jones highlighting that seven first-team players will be unavailable for the clash against the Cherries, Potter is on the lookout to bolster his midfield in the upcoming transfer window.
Speaking on the latest episode of Chasing Green Arrows, he said: “No Ziyech, no Kovacic, no Fofana, no Loftus-Cheek, no Kante, no Chilwell. They’re the ones I’m aware of – obviously Broja – that’s seven. It’s not great.”
“Especially with that midfield, I’m slightly concerned for Chelsea’s midfield here; no wonder they’re on the hunt for a new centre-midfielder at the moment.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Potter must’ve thought the injury problems from before the World Cup would’ve gone, but they might now be worse.
Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic both returned back from the World Cup after demanding and unexpected runs to the semi-finals with Morocco and Croatia respectively.
Meanwhile, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ben Chilwell and N’Golo Kante are all still nursing problems picked up before the break, whilst a fresh concern for Wesley Fofana and a long-term sideline stint for Armando Broja leaves the Englishman scratching his head and potentially in need of a number of fresh January recruits.
As a result, they are thought to have agreed a deal for Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos, while Chelsea have been mentioned as being in the race for Morocco star Sofyan Amrabat.
With Jorginho and the somewhat unfancied Denis Zakaria potentially the Blues’ only fit centre-midfielders over the festive period – and with the Italian’s and Kante’s contracts set to expire in the summer – a new man in the middle is a glaring concern that needs addressing.