Is Chelsea’s midfield Conte’s biggest cause for concern?

by Jack Coles

On the day that Chelsea announce the departure of Nemanja Matic and allow Mario Pasalic to leave on loan for the season, one question needs to be asked: how many midfielders will Conte have come the beginning of the season?

Matic was today unveiled as Manchester United’s latest signing, as the Serbian heads north to reunite with his old boss Jose Mourinho, with Chelsea receiving somewhere in the region of £40 million for allowing him to do so. For a reasonably hefty figure, it appears at first glance to be a sound piece of business by the West London outfit, but with the departure of Croatian Mario Pasalic on the same day, an area of concern has started to surface- The midfield area, to be specific.

With the start of the new Premier League season drawing ever closer and the first chance of silverware up for grabs this coming weekend, there are only four central midfielders still at the club that have featured, in any capacity, this pre-season: Kante, Fabregas, Baker and Scott. Most Chelsea fans would agree that is wafer-thin for the Champions of England and a team hoping to challenge for trophies on all fronts this year.

Bakayoko was said to be Matic’s replacement long before the Serbian even left the Blues, but seeing as the Frenchman is still recovering from a knee injury operated on earlier in the summer, he will not be ready for the start of the season. Combine that with the respective transfer and loan for academy starlets Chalobah and Loftus-Cheek and all of a sudden Chelsea’s midfield is three men shorter than it was at this point last season.

What is more worrying is that neither Baker nor Scott were given as much playing time as they would have hoped for during the Blues’ tour of Asia, especially considering the usually substitute-heavy nature of these friendlies. Time will tell whether either will be counted upon by Conte this season, but unfortunately, if their involvement in these friendlies is anything to go by, it seems unlikely either will enjoy a breakthrough this season.

In terms of tactical options, Chelsea’s midfield scarcity offers a lot less than last year. Depending on the nature of the opponent last term, one of either Matic or Fabregas would be selected to start. Chelsea may be more attacking and creative as a result of Fabregas playing week in week out, but Conte will definitely need the option of midfield security, which Matic provided so well last term.

If the Oxlade-Chamberlain talk turns out to be true, the Englishman could provide cover in that area, but not really a contender for a first team spot in that position. Though his versatility could prove very useful during a busy season, he would be signed first and foremost as a rival to Moses for his wing-back spot. Other mentions such as Barkley, Davis and Drinkwater would probably struggle to make an impact at Chelsea.

Chelsea need to address the midfield frailties and lack of physicality that is now evident with the absence of Matic and one viable solution could be to see David Luiz step in. He can certainly play there as he showed in his first tenure in West London and has somewhat demonstrated during the pre-season tour with his bursts from the back. He is boisterous and brilliant enough to be the midfielder we need, but when Conte signed him last year he firmly stated it was as a defender, and the Brazilian’s performances last year certainly reinforced the manager’s decision. He could prove to be irreplaceable in the centre of the back three.

If both Pasalic and Matic have both left on the same day, it could well mean that Chelsea already have a reinforcement or two lined up. You can almost certainly expect Chelsea to be busy from now until the closing of the window to make up the numbers they are lacking. But in a season where the London side return to European football, quality needs to be added, and not just replaced.

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