Chelsea usually are not in need of high quality choices of their midfield. Enzo Maresca has some wonderful gamers at his disposal within the centre of the park, together with the £100m plus duo of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. The pair have been integral to the Chelsea facet this time period.
Former Blues winger Joe Cole not too long ago claimed that Caicedo is an “excellent” participant and picked him for probably the most improved participant in your entire Premier League.
With 38 video games, he has performed extra occasions within the prime flight this season than some other Chelsea participant. As for Fernandez, he’s featured 36 occasions, additionally highlighting his significance to the Blues.
Remarkably, Chelsea seem like seeking to bolster their midfield depth by including a title-winning midfielder to their squad this summer time.
Chelsea’s midfield goal
Including a brand new midfielder to this squad would definitely be an announcement for Chelsea, given the star energy they’ve. Let’s not neglect that Romeo Lavia can also be an choice for Maresca. Nevertheless, as all sides with prime aspirations ought to, they wish to enhance their choices in midfield.
In line with a report from Italian information outlet Gazzetta, the West London facet have made ‘an vital supply’ for Napoli midfielder Frank Zambo Anguissa. There are query marks about whether or not the newly-crowned Scudetto winners can persuade him to stay in Naples.
Certainly, it’s thought that ‘a clause in his contract permits him to judge this feature independently’. This might depart the door open for Chelsea to deliver him again to West London; the midfielder was previously on the books at Fulham.
If he does depart, a value has not but been clarified, however Napoli paid the Cottagers a reported £15m again in 2022, in response to The Athletic.
Why Anguissa can be a superb signing
For Chelsea’s undertaking underneath Maresca, it looks as if they’re about to enter part two. With Champions League qualification secured, the Blues will certainly wish to grow to be a everlasting fixture within the prime 4 as soon as once more, and, finally, push for a Premier League title.
Nicely, who higher to assist with that than a two-time Italian champion like Anguissa? He has performed a pivotal position in Napoli’s success underneath a former title-winning supervisor at Stamford Bridge, Antonio Conte.
He performed 35 Serie A video games this season, notching up 2858 minutes in whole, the equal of 31 full 90-minute video games. One motive why he was pivotal in the midst of the park is his tendency to pop up with a key objective or help. Anguissa discovered the again of the web six occasions and offered 5 objectives for his teammates.
If the Blues agree a deal for Anguissa, maybe he’ll deliver among the qualities Declan Rice possesses within the midfield for Arsenal. In fact, the England worldwide was as soon as a Chelsea academy participant, years earlier than he broke by means of into first-team soccer with West Ham United.
Similar to Anguissa, the 26-year-old is an all-action midfielder, identified for his exhausting work off the ball and his high quality in possession. In truth, he has related objective involvement numbers to the Cameroon worldwide, with 4 objectives and 7 assists within the Premier League in 2024/25.
The pair are additionally famous as related gamers amongst these of their place in Europe’s prime 5 leagues, as per FBref, when taking a look at their underlying statistics.
For instance, the pair are each exhausting employees off the ball, with the Napoli midfielder averaging 5.4 duels gained per 90 minutes in comparison with 3.9 duels gained every sport for Rice.
Anguissa and Rice key stats in contrast | ||
---|---|---|
Stat (per 90) | Anguissa | Rice |
Open play passes accomplished | 39.2 | 39.9 |
Ahead passes | 12 | 11.6 |
Take-ons accomplished | 0.8 | 0.5 |
Duels gained | 5.4 | 3.9 |
Ball recoveries | 4.8 | 5 |
Stats from FBref |
As author Zach Lowy has said, Anguissa is “one of the vital underrated midfielders in Europe”, which the stats actually again up. There isn’t a doubt that the Blues would desire a Rice-type participant of their midfield, and he actually tips the packing containers, given his spectacular carrying abilities, numbers out of possession and quantity of objective contributions.
While a price shouldn’t be clear, Chelsea have seemingly made contact with Anguissa already, so this might be a deal that strikes swiftly. In the event that they do handle to deliver him to the Blue facet of West London, he might be a superb addition to an already star-studded midfield.
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