Chelsea have been linked with a French international midfielder making waves in Serie A - but can they win the race to sign him?
Chelsea seldom sit still in the transfer market, but one particularly pressing need will dominate their thinking as the January window approaches – the need for a new central midfielder to replace Enzo Fernández. They may now have a new candidate for the role on their shortlist.
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The last-minute collapse of their deal to sign Lamine Camara from Monaco on deadline day left Chelsea with a gaping void in their squad any quite a few players are on their radar as they work to fill it in the near future. Alex Scott, Manu Koné and Adam Wharton are among them. Now, according to new reports, so is freshly-minted France international Lucas Da Cunha.
Chelsea among the clubs tracking Lucas Da Cunha – reports
Lucas Da Cunha made his France debut on Mondayplaceholder image
Lucas Da Cunha made his France debut on Monday | Getty Images
A few years ago, the 25-year-old Da Cunha was a budding winger with Como in Serie B. Since then, however, he has shifted inside to central midfield and his star has risen in line with his club’s.
Da Cunha is now a full-fledged France international having been handed his first cap by Zinedine Zidane during Monday’s Nations League match against Belgium. It feels unlikely to be the last time that he wears the famous blue shirt.
Since his move into midfield, Da Cunha has established himself as a dynamic, do-it-all box-to-box player of the type that Chelsea need to adequately replace Fernández after his summer move to Manchester City, and according to TEAMtalk the Frenchman is on their radar as they work through their options.
The report goes as far as to state that Chelsea have already made first contact – whether with the player’s representatives or his club is not made clear – as they work out the terms for a transfer and assess whether it’s a deal they might be able to get done on their timeframe.
They aren’t alone, however. Da Cunha’s rapid rise to prominence in Italy has attracted attention from a number of other clubs, with this report suggesting that Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion have all been in touch about a deal as well.
The likelihood that Como sell Da Cunha in January is not clear. They’re in the midst of their maiden Champions League campaign and the midfielder’s importance to Cesc Fabregàs’ side is difficult to overstate. Nor will they be easily bullied into a sale, as they hold significant leverage after Da Cunha signed a new contract.
That new deal, which runs until 2031, strongly suggests that Como have no plans to sell Da Cunha and that the player is in no rush to move on. The economic gap between the Premier League and Serie A, however, means that there is always a chance that Chelsea – or indeed one of their potential rivals in the bidding – could present an offer that’s too good to turn down.
The strength of the interest from top English clubs is gradually becoming clear and seems unlikely to go away given Da Cunha’s form. A deal won’t be easy to do in the immediate future, however, and an immense sum of money might have to change hands. That hasn’t put Chelsea off in the past, however. So would Da Cunha be worth a potentially enormous investment?
Why Chelsea – and others – want to sign Da Cunha
Da Cunha is currently the club captain at Serie A side Comoplaceholder image
Da Cunha is currently the club captain at Serie A side Como | Getty Images
During his international debut against Belgium, Da Cunha demonstrated the qualities that have made him a star in Serie A – his passing was precise and his tenacity off the ball produced a string of tackles and turnovers.
He’s averaging five ball recoveries per game in Serie A so far, a strong number for a ball-winning midfielder, and has many of the same attributes you would expect from the modern box-to-box player. Where he really stands out, however, is with his technical quality and the strength and range of his passing game.
As one might expect from a former winger, Da Cunha is a fine ball-carrier who succeeded with two-thirds of his attempted dribbles in Italy last season (a very high mark for a midfielder) and has a final ball to match – he provided four assists in the league during the 2025/26 campaign from 5.14 expected assists’ worth of chances.
He didn’t create any shooting chances for France on Monday evening, but since the turn of the summer he’s increased the number of key passes he plays while improving his passing accuracy up to a total of 94%, and 92% in the opposing half. That’s an exceptional number for a defensive midfielder, and highlights his ability to impact the final third directly in a way that few such players can – as does the fact that he scored eight goals in 42 appearances last season.
Da Cunha, in short, has few weaknesses. He isn’t especially physically imposing and can, as such, be outmuscled in one-on-one situations on occasion, something which did happen a few times against Belgium, but that’s the only significant flaw in a very well-rounded player. It’s not difficult to see why teams like Chelsea have been impressed.
It’s too early to tell whether he’s the player they try to sign. Scott, Koné and Wharton have plenty of their own admirable qualities and remain firmly on the Blues’ radar. But Da Cunha’s star is continuing to rise at a remarkable pace, and it would be no great surprise to see him grace the Premier League in the near future.