Doesn’t really make sense – French football expert thinks top midfielders will snub Chelsea

Chelsea will be on the lookout potentially for a new midfielder this summer as they look to continue their big squad rebuild.

We are not expecting lots more players in the through the doors at Stamford Bridge like we have seen the last two transfer windows, but we certainly expect there to be two or three more arrivals during the summer transfer window, despite Chelsea ultimately focusing on outgoings and getting players off their books.

One position they will probably look at is the midfield, and they have been linked with many players in the last couple of months, one of which is Manu Kone of Borussia Monchengladbach.

I am yet to see any solid links with Khephren Thuram yet, but French football expert Jonathan Johnson has been speaking about both of these players as well as Adrien Rabiot in his latest column for Caught Offside today, linking them with Chelsea moves.

“We’ve seen Chelsea linked with three French midfield players in the form of Adrien Rabiot, Manu Kone, and Khephren Thuram ahead of this summer, and we’re certainly getting used to them being linked with almost every player on the market under Todd Boehly, but how much is there to these claims?” Johnson wrote.

“I can’t confirm the interest from Chelsea in all of them, but we know Rabiot is set to become a free agent this summer, so it could potentially happen. The big question-mark with Chelsea is about how they make space for these players – a lot of their targets will be aware that the Blues currently have a massively bloated squad and that a lot of the signings they’ve brought in recently haven’t featured heavily since their moves.

“With top young talents like Kone and Thuram, who are looking for European football and who are likely to have other clubs in for them, it doesn’t really make sense for them to jump to a club like Chelsea, where playing time isn’t guaranteed and where there won’t be the chance to play in Europe next season.

“When you think that Kone could also have interest from PSG and Thuram’s being looked at by Liverpool and Newcastle, these would probably represent better moves for them to continue their progression.

“For Rabiot it maybe wouldn’t matter as much, so he might be the most realistic of those options for Chelsea, because he’s firmly established in Didier Deschamps’ plans, whereas Kone and Thuram are just breaking through now, so need to keep on playing at the highest level in order to make their mark. So while Chelsea interest in all three players is understandable, I think Rabiot looks like the more likely to make that kind of move at this moment in time.”