Chelsea: Three defensive mid options if no one arrives on deadline day

3. Reece James

At the same time Lampard floated the notion of Christensen in midfield, he mentioned Reece James. This is actually an option he has used both in practice and on paper. Towards the end of last season, James would often move into midfield rather than overlap. There were also times late in matches when Lampard simply moved him there as the substitutes came in.

James also played in midfield during Wigan’s run in when he was on loan there and it arguably was host to his best performances at the club. James tends to be a bit too sure of himself at times which leads to defensive lapses. Like Christensen, those mistakes are less damaging in midfield than at the back.

There are, however, two issues with James in midfield. The first is that it hinders one of his best traits: his crossing. Like Mateo Kovacic playing deepest in midfield and losing the ability to dribble, James would find it hard to move wide out of position to send a cross in. If he did so, someone would have to drop into his vacated space to cover for him and that defeats the purpose of playing him at defensive mid.

The other issue is Cesar Azpilicueta is really the only other right back and shifting James into midfield means Azpilicueta must play. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but what happens if one goes down injured? Then the club is right back to where it is with only Kante as a defensive midfield option. Lampard may want to play dual eights, but the only way to do so is to have at least two full time options for each position in the formation.

Mind, nothing says Lampard has to use any of these options full time and if they are used just to give Kante a rest, they are viable until Chelsea can find someone in January. With the window closing soon, that may be the only realistic option.