Not since the Antonio Conte era at Stamford Bridge have Chelsea really had a complete midfield.
Back then, the Blues had Cesc Fabregas, who was playing some of the best football of his stupendous career. They also had Nemanja Matic, who in his prime was one of the – if not the – best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. And a certain N'Golo Kante who hadn't long been with the club but was already making an unbelievable impact on the pitch.
It was a midfield full of winners. A midfield who knew exactly what was required to get the job done. Ever since then, with the likes of Fabregas and Matic moving on, it just hasn't been the same at all.
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But bringing Enzo Fernandez to the club in January for a British record £106million felt like the start of something new. It felt like the sort of signing Chelsea could build their long-term project around, build the new-look midfield around. If anybody doubted that at the time, they certainly don't now, with the Argentine proving his extraordinary talent in his opening nine matches in a Blues shirt.
Enzo oozes class. His awareness of where opposition players are at all times is remarkable. His awareness of where his teammates are without having to even look sometimes is frightening. He is widely expected to be a pillar of the Chelsea team for the next 10 years at least.
He needs a partner, though. Someone who understands him and the way he plays, someone who compliments him with his attributes. Mateo Kovacic has been that recently, with the Croatian and the Argentine forming quite the partnership during Chelsea's recent upturn in form.
Graham Potter decided he saw enough of the four-back formation after a gutless Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Tottenham last month. Potter switched the system to a 3-4-2-1 for the visit of Leeds United earlier in March – the beginning of the Blues' unbeaten four-match streak.
Chelsea supporters got to see Kovacic and Enzo alongside one another in this system for the first time on that day and immediately it looked a lot better than what we'd witnessed previously. They played with each other in the 1-0 defeat to Southampton recently but that was in more of a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation, depending on how you look at it. That didn't work, but having the wing-backs nearer to them seems to make the system click better.
Potter is very flexible tactically, so Chelsea fans have somewhat been kept on their toes with their attempts to guess what the head coach wants to do in the long run. He has played almost the same amount of games with a three-back than he has with four-at-the-back since taking over in September.
Whatever he wants to do, one thing is evident: Chelsea need to address the centre of midfield in the summer transfer window. It seems ridiculous to even suggest Chelsea need to address anywhere given the unbelievable amount of money Todd Boehly has put into the club in his almost-year-long tenure at Stamford Bridge. But the rebuild is not quite done yet.
Chelsea's current central midfield options:
Denis Zakaria (loan: contract expires June 2023), N'Golo Kante (contract expires June 2023), Enzo Fernandez (contract expires June 2031), Mateo Kovacic (contract expires June 2024), Conor Gallagher (contract expires June 2025), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (contract expires June 2024), Carney Chukwuemeka (contract expires June 2028), Mason Mount (contract expires June 2024)
There is uncertainty at the club regarding the futures of numerous of the midfielders (see above) so there could definitely be a couple in this position brought in over the 2023 summer transfer window. football.london understands the centre of midfield is high on the agenda for Chelsea at the end of the season and conversations have been frequent behind the scenes with the club's new-look transfer team.
One man who the club hold a keen interest in is Alexis Mac Allister of Brighton. The 24-year-old played a big part, alongside Fernandez, in Argentina's World Cup triumph at the back-end of 2022. Mac Allister's form in the Premier League for Brighton this season has further emphasised his remarkable talent.
Potter of course worked with the Argentine during the Chelsea head coach's time down on the south coast with the Seagulls. He knows exactly what he's capable of and what he can bring to the Blues should they make the move. He can play virtually anywhere in midfield; with stints in a midfield three, as a No.10, out wide or in a double pivot.
If Chelsea were to go back to a 4-3-3 in the future, then he is someone who could fit seamlessly into the side. Argentina played with a midfield three on numerous occasions in their World Cup campaign and Mac Allister was often used as a No.8, either side of Enzo, who would usually sit in and play as a No.6, with Rodrigo De Paul on the other side.
Mac Allister is someone who can dictate a game, very much like Fernandez in that respect, but someone who is more accustomed and natural in front of goal than his Argentine counterpart. He is perhaps the ideal No.8 for Chelsea in the long run and the dream partner for Enzo.
He is someone Chelsea very much like and is one of the many names on the club's radar ahead of the summer, a source has told football.london. Brighton, though, are adamant they do not want to sell – as they were with Moises Caicedo in January – but the Seagulls will have more time to find a replacement for Mac Allister in the summer.
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