Aaron Ramsey wants out of Arsenal (who doesn’t?) and Chelsea has been linked to the Welsh midfielder. It would be an odd and characteristic buy.
Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, and Jack Wilshere all have a few things in common. Namely, they were part of Arsene Wenger’s “boys” that were supposed to change things at the North London club. They were all started early with great expectations. They all wanted out.
Whether it was Wenger’s fault or not, they all failed to live up to the lofty ambitions associated with them. They have all flirted with it or occasionally reached it, but all of them feel a bit incomplete. Walcott and Wilshere left in search of something beyond the malaise that is often Arsenal Football Club. Now it is rumored that Ramsey wants to do the same.
Ramsey and Arsenal have supposedly hit an impasse and the midfielder is now looking to leave at the end of the year. Arsenal will look to sell in January but it appears that the player himself is uninterested in that. Naturally, Chelsea is linked in both situations. Bringing Ramsey in would be both odd and completely characteristic of the “no technical director” era.
First of all, yes, Ramsey is a good player. He is an intelligent player on and off the ball and could challenge for a starting role at Chelsea. A player like that, for free, is rare and something usually worth looking at.
But Chelsea is full and overflowing at midfield. Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are currently starters. After them there is Cesc Fabregas, Ross Barkley, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Danny Drinkwater. That is five players vying for one spot on days players live for.
Adding Ramsey into that makes little sense in the current climate. It is possible that Fabregas (contract running out), Kovacic (loan ends without a buy), Loftus-Cheek (lack of playing time), and/or Drinkwater (does not even remember playing time) all depart over the next season. That would easily give Ramsey a spot on the team, but it is still unknown if Chelsea can realistically expect that kind of turnover.
So a summer move could potentially be doable, but a January move would be excessive. So Chelsea will probably do it if Arsenal asks for a low enough price. Because that is just what Chelsea does. They buy players they may not need while alienating a few that they have.
Any Ramsey deal, especially in January, is sure to be the end of at least Drinkwater and Loftus-Cheek’s Chelsea careers. Both barely play as it is. To bring in an experienced and talented midfielder? No chance.
Ramsey is a good player and could help Chelsea. But the Blues simply have no need for him and little room to squeeze him in. If the fan base is already upset about the chances Loftus-Cheek is given, they will only become angrier if another obstacle is added in over him. The move would be odd, but unfortunately very characteristic of Chelsea in the current market.