One of Chelsea's biggest tasks for the summer transfer window will be identifying and securing a perfect midfielder partner for their record signing Enzo Fernandez. A British record transfer fee of £106million was spent by the Blues to acquire the 22-year-old from Benfica, but their midfield rebuild is still yet to be completed.
Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are two obvious long-term targets for Chelsea, although the Blues appear behind in both of those transfer races. Arsenal are firmly in the lead for the West Ham captain and he is their priority target for the summer, as football.london understands.
Meanwhile for Bellingham, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all hopeful they can convince the teenager to join their respective team. In terms of discovering a partner best-suited to Fernandez there may be no one better than Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister, who could be available in the summer.
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The duo, starting all but one game in midfield together, helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup. His father, Carlos, travelled to England recently to discuss the possibilities surrounding a departure. Despite explicitly admitting that he is enjoying his time with the Seagulls and they love having him in the squad, there is a chance that he departs in the summer.
Speaking to TyC Sports, via SportWitness, Carlos said: “We all know that in July there will be possibilities to be able to leave. But prior to the World Cup, Alexis renewed his contract so that the club also has the opportunity of an important transfer, so that a lot can reach Brighton. It’s the idea.”
However, Chelsea may not even need to look elsewhere for the perfect option to form a partnership with Fernandez. N'Golo Kante is closing in on a return from injury and, according to The Guardian, Chelsea are keen to see him build a partnership with Fernandez.
Fitness permitting, a midfield duo of Kante and Fernandez sounds enticing but at 31, Kante is unable to cover ground the way he used to, luckily for Chelsea his perfect heir is already in the Premier League. Southampton's Romeo Lavia has been receiving rave reviews and the teenager has been backing that up with his performances, particularly with his most recent display which came at Stamford Bridge.
Lavia starred for Saints in midfield against Chelsea last weekend which saw him receive significant plaudits from Alan Shearer. "[Lavia] dominated the midfield against Chelsea’s big-money signings," he said on BBC Match of the Day.
To the surprise of many it became clear once the summer transfer window had ended, Chelsea launched a late £50million bid for Lavia that was immediately rejected by Southampton. The 19-year-old had only arrived on the south coast earlier in the window from Manchester City.
Tabling offers for players who have just joined a new club is rather unprecedented but given the verdict of one of his former club and country team-mates, Kevin De Bruyne, it is easy to see why Chelsea made a move.
"He's been training with us since the end of last year," De Bruyne said on Play Sports in 2021. "If he continues his development, I think he will be a top player. That's something I don't say often."
Having only just turned 19, Lavia is already showing signs of a player that is capable of completing at the elite level. Kante, of course, is Chelsea's priority to be Fernandez's partner in the middle of the pitch, but Lavia certainly presents a strong case to be the Frenchman's long-term successor in that role.
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