clemento

Ahead of the summer transfer window, one of the key areas to address is Chelsea's physicality. Specifically, adding more physicality so that the team can better compete in midfield duels. Many think that this will result in a trade of Fernandez, whose biggest weakness is in the same area. However, as I've previously mentioned, this isn't as simple as it may seem because Fernandez's loss opens many other gaps for Chelsea on the ball. To generalise, these are the two primary qualities he brings: 1. Fernandez is the only midfielder capable of contributing on the ball at a relatively high level in all three thirds of the field. 2. Proven to consistently pitch in with a respectable number of goals from midfield. Fernandez's overall on-ball quality can only be replicated by a few players in the world. I think it's easy to underestimate his importance given how few games he has missed over the past couple seasons. Therefore, in my opinion, we shouldn't sell Fernandez at least for another season. Bring in someone who adds physicality while still being at a decent level on the ball. Give Alonso options going into next season and assess the state of the midfield in the end because replacing Fernandez will be a very very tough task. This is why Europa League qualification would be great as Alonso could experiment different midfield partnerships.

See some chat. Mateta on any day is a better striker than Esteban. Experience wise he's there too. So this context doesn't hold.