{"id":1484304,"date":"2026-09-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1484304"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:46:53","slug":"chelsea-midfield-analysis-options-depth","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/chelsea-midfield-analysis-options-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea may have put their season aspirations in danger with midfield transfer business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/chelsea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chelsea<\/a> fans were left unhappy when the summer transfer window closed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blues were left bare in the midfield following Enzo Fernandez&#8217;s \u00a3125million departure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/manchester-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manchester City<\/a>. Lamine Camara was meant to come in to replace him, with everything agreed, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/monaco\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Monaco<\/a> cancelled the move late on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It leaves Xabi Alonso with just five senior central midfield options to take at least until January as he looks to lead the Blues into a strong position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea have started the season well with three wins from three across all competitions. Some have been tipping them for a title charge, but top four will be the main goal. That could have taken a hit, though, after the midfield transfer business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>Chelsea&#8217;s midfield situation<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-what-chelsea-lost\" data-level=\"2\">What Chelsea lost<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-what-chelsea-are-working-with\" data-level=\"2\">What Chelsea are working with<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-where-it-might-hurt-them\" data-level=\"2\">Where it might hurt them<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-chelsea-lost\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Chelsea lost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea&#8217;s midfield departures weren&#8217;t just limited to the final day of the transfer window. The outgoings started early on in the summer, with Andrey Santos allowed to join <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/manchester-united\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manchester United<\/a> for \u00a350m. The Brazilian hadn&#8217;t been able to break into the Chelsea starting lineup under their various managers, with focus on negatives rather than what he could bring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there were moments when he did look like the future of Chelsea&#8217;s midfield. And he could have thrived under Alonso. In the eyes of many Chelsea fans, the Blues would be much better equipped for Fernandez&#8217;s departure had Santos remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-a-surprising-sale\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A surprising sale<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Santos averaged 2.65 tackles per 90 minutes in the Premier League for Chelsea last season, ranking third among Blues players with at least 1,000 minutes played. The only two ahead of him were Moises Caicedo (2.79) and Jorrel Hato (2.84). The Brazilian also ranked fifth for possessions won in the attacking third (0.5) and sixth for possessions won in the middle third (2.01). On the ball, Santos averaged 51.16 passes per 90 with 90.09% accuracy, and ranked 10th for his final third passes completed. He wasn&#8217;t particularly creative, but he allowed his teammates to be more expressive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dario Essugo also departed late in the window, joining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/strasbourg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Strasbourg<\/a> on loan, though he barely featured for Chelsea last season. Fans were happy with that move, even with the lighter numbers, hoping for a good run of games.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1484373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-214x267.jpg 214w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-160x200.jpg 160w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-48x60.jpg 48w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-120x150.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos-59x74.jpg 59w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/09\/03131826\/enzo-fernandez-andrey-santos.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-fernandez-s-sad-departure\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fernandez&#8217;s sad departure<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea&#8217;s hand was somewhat forced when it came to Fernandez. The midfielder&#8217;s agent &#8212; former footballer Javier Pastore &#8212; had been flirting with other clubs all summer. It was a case of allow Fernandez to leave, or have to deal with an unhappy man until at least January. And Chelsea did manage to make a healthy profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fernandez will be a big miss in terms of his output. He ranked third for his 0.29 goals per 90 among Chelsea players with at least 1,000 minutes, while also sitting in the top five for his 0.89 shots on target. Only Alejandro Garnacho (2.06) created more chances on average per 90 than Fernandez&#8217;s 1.96. But Fernandez ranked top for his final third passes attempted (21.43) and completed (16.55) per 90, as well as through-balls attempted (0.72) and completed (0.32). While Fernandez wasn&#8217;t as involved defensively, he still ranked in the top 10 for tackles and was third for 2.13 possessions won in the middle third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-chelsea-are-working-with\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Chelsea are working with<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea cannot be blamed for Monaco cancelling their deal for Lamine Camara. It was a messy transfer saga that also included Folarin Balogun&#8217;s potential move to Everton. But they can be blamed for leaving it until the final hours of the transfer window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blues&#8217; hierachy have known all summer that Fernandez&#8217;s future might not have been at Stamford Bridge. They did look for replacements, but interest in the likes of Alex Scott and Adam Wharton amounted to nothing. Chelsea&#8217;s board looked to remedy this by putting in a deadline for any Man City offer for before the season started. That came and went with no deal. And, obviously, Chelsea they didn&#8217;t hold strong on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It leaves Chelsea with Moises Caicedo, Valentin Barco, Romeo Lavia and Jordan Henderson as the recognised senior midfield options. And Reece James has been starting in midfield under Alonso too, so can be included to boost the list to five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-how-do-chelsea-s-midfielders-compare\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do Chelsea&#8217;s midfielders compare<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class='vccm vccm-compare'data-compare=\"RHUGQqWYx6pna__jaMK2V\" data-show-sponsor=\"false\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On paper, the options aren&#8217;t too bad. Caicedo remains one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, even with a slightly more quiet campaign in 2025\/26. He averaged 2.9 tackles per 90, while also making 1.9 interceptions and winning 59.85% of his ground duels. The Ecuadorean also completed 91.7% of his passes, and averaged 14.9 forward passes per 90. He wasn&#8217;t just passing backwards and sideways. James also had good numbers across the board last season, splitting time between right-back and midfield. He ranked second among Chelsea&#8217;s current midfield options for his 1.6 interceptions per 90, and third for 2.2 tackles made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lavia has decent passing numbers, albeit aided by his lower number of minues played. Still, 61.2 open-play passes completed per 90 and 82.61% passing accuracy &#8212; alongside 85.71% long passing accuracy, is good reading. He has started the new season well too. Barco has strong forward passing numbers and duels won from his time at Strasbourg, coming out on top in this quintet for those metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Henderson has the experience and quality to play the backup role. Although he&#8217;s probably closer to the starting XI than some fans would have hoped. So, what&#8217;s the problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-where-it-might-hurt-them\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where it might hurt them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea are already suffering from their lack of midfield options. Caicedo had to be rushed back from an injury and lasted just 14 minutes in the win over Brighton and Hove Albion. The Ecuadorean hasn&#8217;t struggled much with injuries for Chelsea, but their overreliance on the midfielder may finally be catching up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blues are also playing a risky game in relying on Lavia and James&#8217; fitness. Lavia only played 803 minutes for Chelsea last season, with 377 of those coming in the Premier League. He&#8217;s already a third of the way to beating those league minutes after just two matches this season. Conversely, Lavia has missed 101 games for Chelsea since he joined the club in the summer of 2023. There were three separate injury issues last season alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s a similar story for James. The Chelsea captain has missed 128 games for club and country since the start of the 2021\/22 season. Even his World Cup campaign in the summer was hampered by injury. Although James played 39 games for Chelsea across all competitions last season, he came off the bench for 10 of those.  He also played in just two of Chelsea&#8217;s final eight league games of the campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Caicedo still an injury doubt, there will be a lot of pressure on Lavia and James to play a lot and remain fit. The question is, can they do it?<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/premier-league\/\"><strong>Premier League predictions &amp; tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/outright-markets\/premier-league-title-odds\/\"><strong>Premier League outright odds <\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea fans were left unhappy when the summer transfer window closed. The Blues were left bare in the midfield following Enzo Fernandez&#8217;s \u00a3125million departure to Manchester City. Lamine Camara was meant to come in to replace him, with everything agreed, but Monaco cancelled the move late on. It leaves Xabi Alonso with just five senior&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":1484387,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"chelsea midfield","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Chelsea's midfield transfer business could come back to bite them %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Chelsea had a dramatic end to the transfer window with Enzo Fernandez leaving and Lamine Camara's failed move hurting their midfield.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1484304","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chelsea&#039;s midfield transfer business could come back to bite them | Squawka | 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