Last week, news emerged that Chelsea were considering a surprise move to sign Douglas Luiz with Liam Rosenior keen to add a midfielder. Now, the Blues could sign a Liverpool midfielder instead.
Sunday afternoon saw Chelsea’s midfield guide the rest of the side towards a comfortable 3-1 away win over Crystal Palace. A fourth win in five for Liam Rosenior, but probably the most-convincing of all four.
It was won in midfield. Andrey Santos arguably enjoyed his best game in a Chelsea shirt, totalling a huge 15 defensive contributions, winning the joint-most amount of duels and second-most tackles throughout.
Moises Caicedo was his brilliant self, but the presence of the Brazilian and the Ecuadorian allowed the third South American in Chelsea’s midfield to have freedom, in Enzo Fernandez. But Chelsea lack cover.
Pick your Chelsea midfield THREE under Liam Rosenior…
Surely Andrey Santos features?👀
Liam Rosenior on Andrey Santos
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
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Behind Caicedo, Santos, and Enzo, Chelsea lack central midfielders. Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia are still injured, with Essugo suffering a setback. Reece James played as a right-back for Chelsea on Sunday.
Chelsea turn to Liverpool star after Douglas Luiz interest
With Rosenior preferring James on the right of defence instead of midfield, and both Lavia and Essugo still yet to prove themselves in a Chelsea shirt – let alone their fitness – another midfielder makes sense.
Douglas Luiz is a target, but it would mean having to convince Forest to agree to cancel his loan and then supplying Juventus with the right motive to send him on loan again. Another option has now surfaced.
Curtis Jones.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
According to Simon Phillips on his Substack channel, Chelsea have been made aware of Curtis Jones’ potential availability at Liverpool before the end of the window and are keeping tabs on the situation.
Jones has entered the final 18 months of his Liverpool deal and when everyone is fit at Anfield, the academy product does not start over Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Versatile, the England international can play deep in midfield, as a box-to-box option, or further forward. A set-piece specialist, Jones would be a great signing, but it would be a shock for Liverpool to let him go.
Why Chelsea have moved on from potential Luiz deal
Jones will also want game time ahead of the World Cup and given the necessary platform to show Thomas Tuchel he can be a valued member of his squad. He certainly can be, given his huge versatility.
Would Curtis Jones be a good signing for Chelsea? 👀
Chelsea are considering a late January move…
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Chelsea though, have seemingly moved on from Luiz following the initial reports. It comes after reports in Italian media said Brazil international Luiz had said ‘yes’ to Chelsea with conviction, he was very keen.
But the issue lies between the clubs. Phillips reports that Juventus want a loan with an obligation to buy, forcing Chelsea to turn the deal permanent in the summer. Chelsea only want an option to buy Luiz.
Luiz’s career has dipped since he swapped Aston Villa for Turin and he needs a move to resurrect his CV. Another Premier League club feels likely, but to Chelsea? It seems unlikely, given the competition.
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