Chelsea desperately needs to sign midfielders this summer

The past few weeks have been an absolute dream for Chelsea fans as star players Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly joined the squad for relatively cheap price tags considering their values. To say that the two players filled positions of need would be an understatement, and there is little doubt that they will be critical to the upcoming campaign for the Blues. Yet, news of Chelsea’s continued interest in signing more defenders has left many supporters with one pressing question: what’s the plan for the midfield going forward?

Right now, the Blues have four Premier League-caliber central midfielders in Conor Gallagher, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic (for the sake of the argument, Mason Mount is still being considered a winger in the 3-4-3). This is absolutely a good crop of midfielders with each able to provide excellent quality in a multitude of areas of the game. Yet, with the good comes some question marks, especially in regards to availability. Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic have all struggled with fitness over the past few years, with Jorginho being the only one of the three able to consistently hit 2,000 minutes domestically. Therefore, one must logically conclude that Chelsea needs to sign some midfielders this summer.

Chelsea needs help in the middle of the park starting this summer

Last season was especially difficult in the injury department as none of the three aforementioned veterans reached the 30 games played mark in the Premier League. Sure, the 2021 Champions League run and crowded fixture list likely contributed to their legs being heavier than usual, but it still left Chelsea in difficult spots throughout the season. Although Ruben Loftus-Cheek looked to have regained some of his pre-achilles form, it was still sub-optimal to have to run him out in must-win games. The Blues really struggled to find any consistency in the midfield, and it hurt the team’s ability to keep up in the title race, as evidenced by the December drop in form.

Coming into this season, Chelsea is adding midfield reinforcements with Gallagher set to be given a full-time role in the first team. Gallagher is an unquestionably awesome talent who put together a very impressive season on loan at Crystal Palace last year. He has a ridiculous engine, which he uses to constantly put pressure on the ball and force turnovers that lead to chances going the other way. Possibly more intriguing is his ability around the penalty area. Gallagher gets a ton of touches in the opposition’s box, whether it be through carrying the ball in or getting on the end of progressive passes. The Englishman also scores and assists at a remarkable rate considering his age, which is a quality that the Blues have lacked in the midfield for a while now.

Yet, for all the good that Gallagher brings, he also comes with quite a few question marks. Most strikingly, his passing numbers are abysmal and they have been poor for most of his career thus far. That is not an ideal portion of a midfielder’s game to be lacking in. This is especially the case considering how possession-oriented Chelsea is in every match and how much it relies on its midfielders to cycle possession and move the ball forward. Additionally, it looks like Thomas Tuchel plans to play Gallagher as part of the midfield dual-No. 6 partnership that he has utilized so frequently throughout his time at Chelsea. This would put Gallagher much further away from the box than he is accustomed to. A lot of what he does can be translatable to a deeper position, but considering he really has not spent much time there, he remains a bit of a wildcard option.

It is entirely possible that Gallagher discovers some inert passing ability now that he has joined a side that actually values possession. Last year, Crystal Palace was firmly mid-table in possession, and the Eagles relied heavily on their defenders to progress the ball (as is the case for most non-big six teams). Therefore, spending time in a team that emphasizes midfield ball progression could inflate his passing numbers out of the current gutter in which they reside. Additionally, there is precedent for young English midfielders who have come into the team with questions about their passing only to entirely flip the script. A big knock on Mason Mount coming off his loan spells was his ability to find teammates with the ball at his feet. Now, he is one of the side’s most creative passers and playmakers.

All of this is to say that between the older stars being injury prone and the questions surrounding the newcomers, it does not make much sense that the Blues aren’t linked to any midfield transfers at this moment in time. This becomes more important if Tuchel elects to move toward a three-man midfield, which would create an even bigger need for depth. An argument can be made that the plan is to get through this year with the players available and then swing for Declan Rice next summer, but that still leaves Chelsea with a very thin group for this upcoming year.

Seeing how much the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham have improved this off-season, top four is not at all guaranteed. Thus, passing on upgrading the midfield could end up being a disaster. Hopefully, Loftus-Cheek continues his upward trajectory, Gallagher displays some on-ball juice in a deeper position and the trio of Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic remain healthy. There are a lot of ifs and it would be wise for Chelsea to update its transfer pool with midfielders who can help take the team to the next level in the near future.

Who would you like to see the Blues sign this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!