Chelsea’s midfield in the past three weeks has started to look like one that cost upwards of £200million to form. It is functioning like a a trio of energetic, all-round technical and physically impressive players should. It is striking a key balance between control and bravery.
It is no miracle that this has happened, the Blues have spent over £270million to actually buy the players that are available to them in a best-case scenario. That Romeo Lavia is yet to make his debut and Lesley Ugochukwu has featured so prominently so far this term is just a mere background story in this regard.
The way that Mauricio Pochettino, who drove forward his Tottenham side with a true engine room midfield, has been able to forge connections between a set of players aged 19, 21, 22 and 23 so quickly is mightily impressive. Many will point to the price tags and say this is what they have paid for but the reality is so often different.
The ideal plan would have involved a gradual integration, a period whereby the senior guys mixed with new talent and allowed for an adaption period. The lack of care, attention and recruitment structure has meant that the young group are chucked together under a new manager with a new team around it for good measure.
Things could have been so, so different though. Chelsea will likely take to the field confident of maybe even winning the midfield battle against Arsenal. It could end up being Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo against Declan Rice and Jorginho, with Martin Odegaard ahead of them. That is some prospect.
It wasn’t always going to be like this. Chelsea not only nearly sold Gallagher but they came close to missing out on Caicedo too. After Liverpool’s record bid jolted things into action it was USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams that then became an option.
A £20million fee was agreed with Leeds for the then-injured 24-year-old, reports suggested that a medical had been set. Two days later and Caicedo was at Chelsea, Lavia was at Chelsea, nobody was at Liverpool and Adams was in Bournemouth. That’s the transfer window for you.
In what appears a harsh move, to effectively down tools on completing Adams, someone seen as inferior but not in a derogatory way, more of a not-Caicedo type of way, Chelsea put their energy towards getting the Ecuadorian to where he belonged. They didn’t make any more progress with a deal for Adams and the USA men’s team captain was a Cherry.
Now, two months after joining Andoni Iraola’s side, Adams faces yet another lengthy spell out. Having already missed most of 2023 with a hamstring injury picked up with Leeds in March his surgery from earlier this month has ruled him out until February at least, the Athletic report.
It is true that he is going to be out for some time, for sure,” Iraola had said at the start of August. I think it’s the same area. I couldn’t tell you if it’s exactly the same point, but it’s true that it’s his hamstring that he is not feeling well.” Things were worse than first feared and now he will do well to regain full fitness until more than three-quarters of the season is up.
Chelsea were aware that Adams would be joining with a knock, something they were expecting to keep him sidelined with until the end of August. This latest setback for the former RB Leipzig star may have just proven their extra spending to be worthwhile.
Pochettino already has a large section of his squad out with injury or continually uncertain and either picking up knocks or recovering from them. Adding Adams into that mix would not only be playing with fire but he also doesn’t have the immediate or potential quality of Fernandez, Gallagher, Caicedo, Ugochukwu or Lavia.
