Chelsea transfer news: Mauricio Pochettino is set to focus his efforts on recruiting in the Blues midfield for the remainder of the summer window
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez could be Chelsea team-mates next season with Mauricio Pochettinp pushing to give them two dream midfield partners (Image: (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images))
Although five Chelsea midfielders have left the club in the last six months, Mauricio Pochettino has the chance to strike the perfect midfield balance if two more transfers are completed.
Following his £106million transfer from Benfica, Enzo Fernandez will undoubtedly be at the centre of those plans and Pochettino will be aiming to have five players around him for years to come. Obviously, Moises Caicedo will be one of those desired options with the Blues strongly linked to him throughout the summer window.
Negotiations have been ongoing for weeks without much progress, but football.london understands Chelsea and Brighton have held positive talks in recent days over the possible sale of Caicedo. Despite losing Jorginho in the January transfer window, with N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek also all departing in the last month, long-term replacements have already been signed.
Cesare Casadei and Andrey Santos are both currently part of their first pre-season at Chelsea and are expected to be named in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for the USA tour. Casadei officially signed for the Blues last summer before spending the most recent campaign on loan at Championship side Reading.
Meanwhile, Santos returned to Brazil for a loan spell with former club Vasco da Gama after completing an £18million move to Stamford Bridge in January. Another wonderkid signing was also made in the winter window with the Blues capturing the services of Ecuadorian starlet Kendry Paez.
However, the 16-year-old is only set to join the club when he turns 18 which means his first spell in blue will be in the 2025/26 season. The attacking midfielder appears a great talent, but after losing Kai Havertz along with Mount, a creative midfield spark is needed now rather than in two years’ time and Chelsea have already identified one.
Lyon ace Rayan Cherki is the main name being linked with a move to west London. football.london understands direct talks have already occurred between the Blues and Cherki’s representatives, while conversations with Lyon have also followed in recent days.
Personal terms are currently being worked on and it has been claimed by journalist Simon Phillips, that once they have been finalised, an official bid will follow. The French club are said to be demanding €50million (£42.9million) to sell Cherki, though Chelsea feel a deal could be done for closer to €40million (£34.4million).
If Chelsea can get that move over the line, Cherki, Caicedo and Fernandez could be from dream midfield three with a new graphic from Squawka coming to light showing exactly how the trio would complement each other.
Cherki would be placed as the furthest forward of three with his chance creation stats and numbers of touches in the opposition boxes showcasing what he could bring to the club.
Meanwhile, Fernandez could finally be unleashed in a box-to-box role to show off his exquisite passing range, all without needing to worry too much about what is going on behind him as that is where Caicedo would be. His numbers for interceptions, tackles and ball recoveries certainly prove he could handle the dep-lying role by himself if needs be.
Pochettino would then have Casadei, Santos and Paez as his back-up options and none of the six currently being over the age of 23 proves it would be for the long-term.
Soucre: football.london
