2023-08-17 07:53:00
Chelsea supporters who demanded renewal in their aging midfield are served. Five years following the last important recruitments (Jorginho and Kovacic) in the midfield, the Blues have decided to restart from a blank page this year. With staggering and even historic transfers of young and promising midfielders: Enzo Fernandez (22 years old / €121m), Moises Caicedo (21 years old / €133m), Andrey Santos (19 years old / €12.5m), Lesley Ugochukwu ( 19 years old / €27m), but also Carney Chukwuemeka (19 years old / €18m), who played little last season. We should also add Conor Gallagher (23 years old), trained at the club, and the Italian talent Cesare Casadei (20 years old/15 M €), bought last summer. And here is now Roméo Lavia (19 years old).
Premier League: Moises Caicedo signs for Chelsea and ends the soap opera of this transfer window
Long coveted by Liverpool, whose various offers were deemed insufficient by Southampton, the young Red Devil finally gave in to the charm of the Blues for a long-term contract. The transfer, which should be formalized at the end of the week, will cost them nearly 70 million euros, including bonuses. Which clearly means that Chelsea are betting heavily on the Belgian for the years to come. On the other hand, his arrival will not facilitate the puzzle of Mauricio Pochettino.
At first, the Argentine manager will have to let some players go on loan. Former Rennais Lesley Ugochukwu and Brazilian Andrey Santos are thus likely to imitate Cesare Casadei, sent this Tuesday to Leicester City for the season. However, there will still be a lot of competition, especially since the absence of European competition will greatly reduce the number of matches and minutes to distribute.
Which system with Lavia?
Against Liverpool last Sunday, Pochettino opted for a 3-4-2-1, starting Connor Gallagher a notch lower alongside Enzo Fernandez and in the middle of full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell. Chukwuemeka was more attacking, just behind Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson. In this scheme, the most logical solution would be to replace Gallagher with Caicedo, who will certainly start. Which means Romeo Lavia would start on the bench.
But two other interesting options are available to the Chelsea coach, who appreciates high pressing and fluid transitions. The most obvious: a middle three, either in a classic 4-3-3, or in a 3-5-2 where the trio would be framed by the laterals and with a Jackson-Sterling or Nkunku doublet (when he is return from injury) in attack. We would then have a midfield Lavia-Fernandez-Caicedo recruited nearly 320 million € and already nicknamed “LFC” by some fans, in a nod to Liverpool who missed Caicedo and Lavia.
Mauricio Pochettino should build around Enzo Fernandez. ©2023 Getty Images
This system would probably lack a dose of creativity but would make it possible to exploit the particular and complementary aptitudes of the three midwayers. Namely the qualities of torchbearer and metronome of Fernandez, the defensive protection and recovery of Caicedo, as well as the dynamism of Lavia, capable of evolving in box-to-box.
The other possibility would be to adopt a 4-2-3-1, using Lavia and Caicedo in double pivot. Enzo Fernandez might thus evolve more freely and more offensively a notch higher, almost like a number 10. But we might also see the Argentinian compete with Lavia and Caicedo to establish a more creative profile. “I am aware of the competition within the team but I am here to fight and show my value,” said Moises Caicedo in his first interview on the club’s website.
Caicedo, Rice, Fernandez, Tonali, Lavia: why are defensive midfielders exploding the English market?
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