According to the Guardian, “Chelsea FC are considering rivaling Arsenal and Manchester United in the pursuit of Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne this summer as they prepare to add to their options in the transfer window.”
Essentially, Schneiderlin has proclaimed his desire for Champions League Football next season, something that Southampton does not look capable of offering him at the moment.
“Today I am at Southampton. We are second in the Premier League, it is going well. We’ll see at the end of the season what will happen if we are still in the Champions League places and I will make the choice.” – The Guardian
Although at times this season it appeared that the Saints would be able to make a top four finish, they currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League standings. While the club clearly overachieved this season, Schneiderlin has often been linked with a move away from St. Mary’s Park.
Chelsea would have to fight off the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United in order to secure his services. Arguably, both of these clubs represent a better option for the Frenchman, as he would basically walk into both of their starting lineups. Plus, we all know how Wenger likes to sign French players.
However, Schneiderlin would be an interesting move for the Blues. He represents an option for remedying Oscar’s poor form.If they choose to sell Oscar this summer, instead of replacing him with another center attacking midfielder, they could sign Schneiderlin and move Fabregas into his preferred role, higher up the pitch. Schneiderlin would do a good job in the pivot next to Matic. The Frenchman is a natural deep-lying playmaker, similar to Fabregas. He is known for his surging runs from the back, while also having an ability to defend.
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Overall, this move makes a relative amount of sense to me. While I hesitate to breakup the formidable partnership of Matic and Fabregas, the potential of having Fabregas next to Hazard and behind Costa is mouthwatering enough to give it a go. However, I do think by Chelsea FC bringing in Schneiderlin, it would spell the end to Ramires’ time in a blue shirt. The Brazilian would not want to fall further down the pecking order, and this would be the case, should we sign Schneiderlin.
Moving on to the Clyne link. The fact that we are being linked with the young Englishman makes absolutely no sense. We have two of the best right-backs in the world, never mind the Premier League. Branislav Ivanovic has proved his worth time and time again this season. And if having the Serbian wasn’t enough, Chelsea have Cesar Azpilicueta playing left back, who is a natural right back.
All he would have to do is slide over, and allow Filipe Luis to play left back. Chelsea are so well stocked in the full-back position. We even saw the likes of Kurt Zouma play right back during the preseason, and he looked quite comfortable as well. Going past the immediate options, Chelsea also have players like Tomas Kalas and Kenneth Omeruo on loan to Middlesbrough who represent top prospects for the Blues.
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There is no reason to get in the way of Manchester United or Arsenal in this situation. Clyne appears to be a solid fullback, who’s new position in the England National Team comes as a result of being one of the only decent English right backs. Don’t misunderstand me, Clyne can go on to be a solid performer in the Premier League. But for Chelsea to spend a decent sum of money on a position that is arguably their best-stocked area on the pitch would just be sloppy business.
This summer will see the Blues be linked with talent from every corner of the globe. Some moves will make sense, and others will be an absolute farce. This link seems to be a symptom of something the mainstream media loves to do, take a perfectly sensible move (Schneiderlin) and tack on another up and coming player (Schneiderlin), all to say that “Chelsea are linked with Southampton pair”. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chelsea were to move for the Frenchman in the summer. However, Chelsea FC will not move for Clyne under any circumstance.
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