If it was up to Pep Guardiola there would only be one position on a football pitch.
“In all my career I play with a lot of midfield players," he has said almost comedically in the past. "I don’t know why but I have the feeling that you can play better with this, but at the same time we need everyone."
It is now beyond a running joke that the Spanish manager, the conquerer of all over the past 15 years in coaching, pioneer of tactical inovation and greatness, has a liking for midfielders. For him it provides total control and that is just what is needed to reduce the pure Barclays uncertainty.
After his side went 4-0 down to Leicester City in his first season in English football there was a notable shift to needing even more dominance on the centre of the pitch. Midfielders are balanced, midfielders can do jobs at both ends of the pitch and often occupy the ball in dangerous areas more fraught than any.
So, if the leading mind in management is so driven towards midfielders that he has turned John Stones into one of the most dynamic, shapeshifting players on the planet, why are Chelsea so willing to offload their engine room?
This window alone, all five days and counting of it, have already seen at least five linked with moves away. Add in the sale of Jorginho in January and there's a distinct chance that six midfielders leave the club permanently within six months.
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For Mauricio Pochettino, who was also a midfielder by trade as a player, Chelsea need to rebuild, reinforce, revamp and regroup in that area. For too long they have been limited to those with skillsets not suited to each other or to consistent results. For cup competitions, defensive solidity and moments of glory there has been success, for sustained periods of results there has been no such outcome.
And so it is down to Pochettino to totally overhaul this vital section of the field. After founding his Tottenham team of the mid-2010s on a trio of workhorses and technical proficiency, he has free reign to sell and buy almost at will.
Mason Mount is much closer to leaving the club than he is to signing any form of contract extension. Ruben Loftus-Cheek would perhaps have already settled into a new Milan house if there hadn't been a boardroom reshuffle. Mateo Kovacic will almost certainly never play for Pochettino as he closes in on a transfer to Manchester City.
These three alone have provided a base for three managers to build on in the past two years and longer at Stamford Bridge. The loss of each one poses new and bigger questions for the club to answer in either incomings or actions with returning loanees.
This is far from the only activity that will happen. Conor Gallagher has no defined destination but football.london understands he is more likely to leave than to stay. Brighton are interested, as are Tottenham. The England international appears to suit the style of Pochettino but with finances tight and expensive alternatives, he is seemingly expendable.
His teammate, N'Golo Kante, will recoup the tidy sum of nothing if he is to leave this summer. The Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the month and has options in Saudi Arabia to have a gentle farewell to his career. Despite consistent injuries, he has often covered for more than one player in the Chelsea squad for many a year.
His exit would mean that the main trio of the 2021 Champions League side won't be on the books for any longer just two years after their togetherness dragged the club to a dramatic second title.
It leaves a gaping hole in the side one that can only be filled by new players. Be it an early introduction to life in England for teenage sensation Andrey Santos or a big shift in trust towards Carney Chukwuemeka, minutes have to come from somewhere.
There is a need here for an extra goalkeeper, maybe two, and at least one player that can relied upon to bring in more than ten goals a season. It's not a huge amount but demonstrates the dearth of quality that has been on offer. The striker role is one of major priority but such is the lack of current options, midfield is taking up most of the attention.
The names on the list are younger, more Pochettino-like than those set to leave. With an aim to bend these players to his will and create a cohesive unit rather than a group of individuals, the flexible and open nature of Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice are appeals.
At least one of that duo are almost an unegotiable requirement of the summer window. The teenage addition of Santos may well be supplemented by further talks with Romeo Lavia to add a youthful underbelly to the core. It is, in eight transfers, what may well end up defining his tenure in charge.
If the wishes are met and Pochettino has a battering ram of physicality, energy and a perfect blend of technical drive at his expense then this is the shape likely to be seen for years to come at Stamford Bridge. If there is only an exodus of stars and no such fresh blood added then, unlike Guardiola, the Argentine will have to work without a midfield of note.
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