Chelsea’s midfield makeup is going to marginalize and magnify
By Travis Tyler
2. The tip of the spear
Part of the reason why a true holding midfielder is needed is that the two midfielders in front of them are much more attacking. They still need to press and be involved defensively, but without someone behind them to sweep up, the shape collapses.
Offensively, one of those two midfielders will theoretically be more involved than the other. While both will be expected to rotate with their wide man or lurk outside the box, one will do so far more than the other simply for balance purposes. On paper, this is the 10 from the former 4-2-3-1 and, more often than not, they will probably find themselves playing on the right to rotate with Hakim Ziyech’s winger turned 10 turned inverted forward and back again.
Kai Havertz is perfect for this role because of his constant sense of his spacing when the team is in possession. A 10 role in a 4-2-3-1 makes sense for that reason as it allows for a safer free role, but Chelsea’s right backs, right wingers, and the holding midfielder are all players who can cover for him as need be.
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What if he isn’t available though? Thus far, only Mateo Kovacic has provided an answer to that and he surprisingly showed a willingness to attack in ways not previously seen. Gilmour could again fill in to this role when fit, though he is probably more suited to being deeper. Further down in the depth chart, Tino Anjorin is likely to be groomed for this role in the long term. It is also possible that Ziyech takes a deeper role if someone is available to come in at right wing.
From the outside, Ross Barkley could play his way into a miraculous return to Chelsea next season. Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could both do the same, but the former may be suited for another role and the latter still has to show he can return to the player he was before.
There really aren’t any signings linked or rumored for this type of midfielder because Chelsea is pretty well stacked for it. That is not to say that won’t change over the next two windows, but as it stands Havertz is clearly the main man with the only question being who is next on deck behind him.