Chelsea have been quick to quash any notion that Georginio Wijnaldum will be handed a shock route back into the Premier League through Stamford Bridge. The Blues will not be signing the 35-year-old Netherlands midfielder and are currently playing down every report linking him with a move to Stamford Bridge.
Reports had claimed the West London club had made contact with the former Liverpool man only hours earlier. Wijnaldum has been a free agent since the summer when his contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq expired. It is a situation that would have allowed Chelsea to sign him even after the English transfer window closed on Tuesday night.
An acutely chaotic deadline day in West London raised that prospect. Chelsea agreed to sell Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125 million, matching the British transfer record, before an agreed £47 million move for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara fell through just after the 11 pm deadline. Monaco ripped up the deal after resurrecting Folarin Balogun’s eventual failed switch to Everton, leaving the Blues painfully light in central areas.
Wijnaldum was an experienced, free option to address that shortfall and a reunion with former Anfield teammate Jordan Henderson. The Dutchman won the Premier League and Champions League while making 237 appearances and scoring 22 goals for Liverpool over five seasons, and has made 217 Premier League appearances following a previous stint at Newcastle United. Since then, he’s been with Paris Saint-Germain, enjoyed a loan spell at Roma and spent three seasons in Saudi Arabia working under Steven Gerrard.
Chelsea’s Midfield Options After Enzo Fernandez Signs For Manchester City
Fernandez’s departure has left Xabi Alonso with a conspicuously thin pool of specialist midfielders for the months ahead. The options acknowledged are Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Henderson and Valentin Barco, with captain Reece James and Malo Gusto both able to operate centrally when the need arises. Caicedo’s fitness has already been a source of disruption in the opening weeks of the campaign.
The Ecuador international was left out of the squad for the trip to Fulham, where Alonso paired James with Lavia in a 3-2 win at Craven Cottage. Lavia opened the scoring in the first five minutes of a 4-3 win against Brighton, a match in which Chelsea only had 25% possession. It was the club’s lowest possession figure since Opta started recording the data in 2003/04.
Alonso’s immediate concern is a demanding trip to the Emirates Stadium to face champions Arsenal, before newly-promoted Hull City visit Stamford Bridge on September 12. The free agent market is still there for the Blues should further injuries force a reassessment of their position. Otherwise, traditional recruitment is out until the window reopens in January.