Chelsea already have a fantastic midfield. It’s the most important area of the pitch for Maurizio Sarri, and many of his selections this term have impressed.
However, that doesn’t mean that it cannot be improved. Chelsea’s squad is far from perfect, and additional quality will always help.
The 20-year-old is obviously a young player with relatively little experience, but judging by his recent form it’s clear that he’s ready to make a step up from Ligue 1, and a move to Chelsea could make sense.
Indeed, it could make their midfield even better – and that’s a worrying thought for Chelsea’s rivals. But what could their midfield look like with Aouar in the fold?
As long as Maurizio Sarri is Chelsea manager, there is only one man that will sit at the bottom of the midfield, and that’s Jorginho. The former Napoli man was brought in by Sarri to be his go-to player in the squad, and so far he’s been exactly that. He’s been a regular and brilliant performer, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. He’s got a fantastic range of passing, with bags of energy, vision and directness, whilst the rate at which he’s able to pick up passes is truly astonishing. He sets the tempo, and everything goes through him.
Likewise, it’s hard to see anyone but N’Golo Kante taking up the mantle just ahead of the Italian. Shifted away from his perhaps more natural defensive midfield role this term, Kante’s now more of a box-to-box midfielder, but he’s got all the traits to make that work. He’s always been a relentless runner, and so he has no problem running from either end of the field to stop a counter-attack or spur on a Chelsea attack. He’s also improved his passing and dribbling, and that’ll only get better with him. He’s not as crucial as he once was, but he’s still a brilliant and important performer for the Blues.
Houssem Aouar, then, would be best suited to a role slightly further forward. This position has been adopted by a handful of players this term, but perhaps long-term Aouar could be a better choice. Ruben Loftus-Cheek continues to be linked with a move away, whilst Mateo Kovacic only is at Chelsea for the season whilst on-loan from Real Madrid. Ross Barkley has impressed this term, but his injury record is spotty at best, and a little bit of competition never hurt anyone. For Aouar’s part, the creative midfielder has fantastic energy like the aforementioned trio, but he is also able to offer arguably more in the way of offensive flair. He’s a fantastic passer of the ball, and given his 5 goals this term, he’s also clearly a fantastic goalscorer. At just 20-years-old, he’s younger than all of Chelsea’s options, but at present, he’s looking even better.
This would be a brilliant midfield, and with an eye on the future, it will only get better.
Thoughts?
