Chelsea already have Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater. They do not need a fourth chronically-injured English midfielder. They simply need one (or more) to get and stay healthy.
Jack Wilshere announced his imminent departure from his boyhood club Arsenal on Tuesday. Wilshere was willing to accept less money to stay at Arsenal, but would not agree to the “significantly reduced” playing time Unai Emery told him lay ahead. As is always the case, the first like had barely shown up on Wilshere’s Instagram post before possible destinations sprouted across the rumour mill. Chelsea, being a nominally functional football club, was one suggested destination.
Former Blue Dennis Wise thought this was a no-brainer. He contrasted Chelsea’s spend on Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater to acquiring Wilshere on a free transfer, and said Wilshere should be N’Golo Kante’s partner next season.
That would be a distinctly unwise move.
Chelsea already have a surfeit of midfielders, with a disproportionate number of injured English midfielders. After his loan excellence at Crystal Palace and his positive debut at the World Cup, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in prime position to return to Chelsea ahead of Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley in the depth chart. However, the depth chart is more dependent on their health and fitness than their performance. Any one one of them can string together strong performances and make a case for the starting XI. Until the inevitable happens, that is, and they miss several weeks or months with an injury.
Wilshere would fit in all too well with this crowd and their pattern. His career has been a series of promises and setbacks, as one injury leads to another and his recovery timelines extend over the horizon.
Wilshere is further from his potential than anyone deserves to be, and for no reasons other than his ability to draw hard tackles and a few curses of physiology and fortune. His ankles pay the price for his ability to lure in defenders and then side-step the ball away at the last minute. He takes the blow, his team takes the free kick and his career is stuck holding the bill. The safe alternative takes away so much of what makes him who he is and what he could and should be. It’s a cruel paradox in red and white.
In addition to their injured English midfielders, Chelsea also have the option of bringing uninjured English midfielder Mason Mount into the side. And beyond the Englishmen they still have Tiemoue Bakayoko who, contra Wise, showed every sign in April and May of starting next season back in his AS Monaco form. Bakayoko’s second season will justify his transfer fee and place his first season in context.
Chelsea also have another reason for not pursuing Jack Wilshere. He’s a Gunner through and through. For once, we don’t mean that in a derogatory or snarky way. Jack Wilshere is Arsenal’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek or John Terry. He has been the evergreen symbol of that team for much of the last 17 years. It would be gratuitously cruel and gauche to make him play against his boyhood club on behalf of their fiercest rival.
Wilshere’s connection to Arsenal is as deep as that of any other one-club man. John Terry dreaded the possibility of facing Chelsea if Aston Villa won promotion. Andres Iniesta will play in Japan next season to avoid ever having to face Barcelona. In that spirit, Wilshere should not have to play against Arsenal. If he chooses to stay in England and has to play against the Gunners, he should do so on behalf of a team that will not induce an awkward atmosphere of applause and boos when he takes the pitch. Future Chelsea coach Frank Lampard might counsel the same.
SkySports reports Crystal Palace, Wolves and Everton are among his Premier League suitors. Any of them would be a more respectful destination than Chelsea. Serie A would be even better, where Juventus, Sampdoria and AC Milan are in the mix.
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Chelsea already have a numerically strong, physically fragile corps of English midfielders. They do not need Jack Wilshere, and he would bring too much baggage to Stamford Bridge. He will be a great opponent to play against.