Nobody can convince me that ‘Chelsea have enough’ in midfield this season, as much as Chelsea tried to yesterday afternoon.
Chelsea knew Enzo Fernandez wanted out for literally AT LEAST the last four months. It was clear and obvious to anyone with eyes and ears that Fernandez was going to do all he can to force a move. You had SIX weeks to sort that move out and replace him. Fernandez started forcing the move in the last week of the window, and your ‘fake deadline’ was never going to work. Enzo was ALWAYS leaving this window, yet you failed to replace him.
Granted, Morgan Rogers will replace some of the creative and attacking output that Enzo bought. I do agree with that. But how anyone can look at our current midfield options now and say we have enough, is absolutely beyond delusional.
We have Romeo Lavia who is injury prone and only completed his first ever 90 minutes for us just a few weeks ago. Jordan Henderson who is good to have around for his leadership, but is 36-years-old and also currently injured. We have Moises Caicedo who got injured again last week because Xabi Alonso was forced to use him in the absence of Enzo who was refusing to play, then Valentin Barco who looks decent to be fair but to me also looks like more of a left back.
Then we have two right backs who are being shoehorned into midfield to cover incompetence. Don’t get me wrong, I think Reece James is useful there for sure and can help, but he’s also been pretty injury prone in his career too, right? And I’d rather see Reggie Watson starting in there than Malo Gusto, come on now.
So, we might have replaced some of Enzo’s attacking output, but we have NOT go enough cover or quality in midfield overall. To me, that’s just a fact.
But that’s what you get for leaving everything until the last minute and then scrambling around for AT LEAST six midfielders trying to sign them on deadline day as if you’ve only just realised that you are losing Enzo. I mean, what the hell!? Surely they aren’t THAT stupid. It’s like they woke up on deadline day and said to themselves ‘oh right, Enzo is off then, we better try and sign someone then’.
But all that isn’t what annoys me the most. What annoys me the most is they have spent the last three weeks briefing that they will absolutely NOT be selling Enzo without signing a replacement in. That they will only allow Enzo to go if they can improve what they’ve got in his absence. That they will sign TWO new midfielders. They briefed ALL of that. We even saw briefs that they would ‘go big’ in midfield to replace Enzo. I’d even heard that myself.
Even the oracle of transfer news David Ornstein was suggesting Chelsea wanted two new midfielders on deadline day, pointing towards Lamine Camara not being related to Enzo’s departure. Matt Law reported on deadline day that Chelsea would not sell Enzo without getting in a replacement. Chelsea briefed all that. Every reporter, insider, and outlet had got wind all summer that Chelsea were targeting TWO new midfielders to still come in once Enzo was sold. And in the end, they couldn’t even get one. How pathetic is that? Truly pathetic.
They were left scrambling around on deadline day to sign one, but couldn’t get one. They then sent out more embarrassing briefings insulting our intelligence claiming that they had enough in midfield and they were content with their options, blah, blah, blah, and all the usual nonsense. That is what makes me angry the most. It’s point blank LYING to the fans, those who pay your wages, those who keep the club going. Just STOP the damn lies, we are NOT stupid.
We then thought we got lucky due to Florian Balogan’s move to Everton collapsing and Monaco needing to make a sale, so they changed their stance on selling Camara to Chelsea and it was a done deal. But then the luck reversed, Monaco were dickheads, and Chelsea were left completely screwed and red faced by once again leaving it until the last minute for some INSANE reason. Absolute madness.
You know what? Maybe we will be fine. Maybe we will be lucky and somehow manage to keep them all fit and available. Maybe the Xabi Alonso effect keeps us ticking over until January. Maybe it’s not a disaster. I truly mean that too, it might not be a disaster, we might be fine with what we’ve got. But the point is, we are ONE big injury away from an absolute disaster, and that midfield looks weak in my eyes.
But as I say, for me that wasn’t even the biggest issue, the biggest thing for me is how that shit show of a deadline day just bought out even more pathetic Chelsea club briefings and turned many fans fully back against Blueco when many of us were warming to them again, slowly. Not anymore though.
This article is not about the window on the whole, just the deadline day. I know they did a lot of good stuff as well, and I will be praising that too. But that deadline day is literally going to give me nightmares and left me with a banging headache. That was down to Blueco’s pure INCOMPETENCE….
Simon Phillips
I am with you 100% Si.
Everything you have said was spot on.
This is gross neglect.
Our best midfield player injured.
Reece & Lavia made of glass.
Henderson & Barco.
Barco IMO is never CM player. Unless we play with a 3. Barco is not big or athletic enough to play as a two. Prem teams will just steam roller him.
Enzo simply HAD to be replaced, we signed no -one and simply cried about other players being priced too high. Yet the WHOLE football world knew we were getting £120 mill plus for Enzo!!!
As tough as it was to take, we were always going to have to pay slightly over the odds for the player we needed.
As people have said on here, we now hold our breath when Caceido, Reece & Lavia play.
I feel we have just missed a massive chance to secure Top 4 by completing our squad, by not getting the perfect midfielder in, to complement Caciedo.
Now we are in the dog fight for CL places.
Arsenal & City are way ahead of us IMO.
Yes, we have won our opening two games, but DEEP down, we all know we needed that proper CM player.
A big missed opportunity I feel.
Si could you please ask your sources when Caceido will be back please.
I might feel a bit better then!
Sorry but think there is far too much over reaction here.
Of course the expectation was that Enzo was off but that deal didn’t get announced till after 11.00pm and yes no doubt as the day progressed it was becoming clearer he was going but the certainty was very late into the window. It’s not just about the finances it’s also about squad numbers and quite possibly it had to be one out first.
Enzo gone is the plus . For all the positives about him there are just as many negatives( and them some). He refused, it is said, to play
Of course both Reece and Lavia are likely to suffer an injury but before now and the next window there are 16 league games and potentially 3LC games. Hardly that challenging.
There would be no guarantee any of the players being looked at would be any better than the options we have in the likes of Barco or Henderson indeed they could have been far worse.
Add to that had we kept Enzo we could easily have had a sulkier and petulant player on outr hands
I still give the club close to a 10/10 for the window.