Either by choice or circumstance, Leandro Paredes is now a Paris Saint Germain player. What is feeding into the deputy regista situation for Chelsea?
Sarrismo requires a regista, at least on paper and in Maurizio Sarri’s mind. Jorginho has always been that player and it would be hard to say that Sarrismo would even exist without Jorginho. But what happens if he goes down injured?
During the first half of the season the answer was Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas was not totally happy with the role or the lack of minutes and the club allowed him to depart for AS Monaco. It appeared that he was allowed to go because a deal with Zenit’s Leandro Paredes was imminent.
But that deal never happened and Paredes is now a PSG player. Sarri has remained steadfast in his desire for a new player to come in and deputize behind Jorginho. The club, however, feels as though there are enough midfielders at the club already and they fear upsetting some of the up and coming youth by making a signing. It appears as though Sarri and the club are at an impasse, but the situation is complicated and requires some unpacking.
Sarri has said himself that he needs a new player. He admitted being able to use Ethan Ampadu or Mateo Kovacic in the role, but explained that they would have to be adapted to it.
That is where the threads start to appear. Yes, Ampadu and Kovacic could do the job if required. But if Jorginho becomes injured, how comfortable would Sarri feel playing either in the regista spot against tough opposition? The answer seems to be not comfortable at all.
Furthermore, pulling Ampadu or Kovacic into another position means the depth is cut short elsewhere. That is not too much of a big deal for Kovacic but it could make the centerback depth stretch out very quickly.
But there is something to be said about the club’s stance. Chelsea has, in the past, brought in a new player because the role was needed right away, even if a youth player could fill that same role in a few months. The club could be looking at the summer and while thinking some player returning from loan or from the academy can fill the need then.
The club also has Danny Drinkwater who has not seen the light of day all season. Sarri seems to think he is only capable of playing in a midfield pair as opposed to a trio. But he left the door open for that situation to change if no midfielder is brought in.
The one thread that really has no basis in this situation is the price of Paredes. Many balked at the price for a player that would only be a backup. But it is hard to imagine that Manchester City would do the same. In fact, they have many backups that came in for similar prices and they were looking to bring Jorginho in to be a backup. But a backup at Manchester City is admittedly afforded far more playing time than a backup at Chelsea has been this season.
This is a complicated issue for Chelsea. Sarri wants a specialist to come in, but seems to accept he may have to ram a square peg into a round hole for the rest of the season. The club itself sees players coming up, but no one perfectly fits the need currently. Could that change? It appears as though the club is banking on that.
A deal could still happen in the next few days. But for now, the club seems to have gone into a position of “what we have, we hold”. Sarri is likely already planning to make do for the rest of the season. But do not discount a surprise, last minute deal quite yet.