The Athletic UK Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson updated a new column last night local time, and his column title is — Chelsea show they're title contenders but central midfield is a worry after latest Kante injury.
But after the column was released, Simon Johnson replied to tireless foreign fans on Twitter, saying that there will be new news from Conde and further updates tomorrow (that is, the 30th) local time.
In the op-ed, Simon Johnson mentions several key points:
Chelsea are hoping the deal for Sevilla defender Conde will be completed by the deadline, but Chelsea need more midfielders. This is the second ankle injury in less than a month, and in chelsea's four games this season, he has only started one, not yet played a full game, and has only played 128 minutes.
Tuchel did not say how serious Kante's injury was after last weekend's game, telling him: "He felt the same pain as before arsenal, he couldn't pick up and accelerate, so we had to let him go. "If Kante needs time to recover, the two-week international break actually provides a fantastic opportunity (with the consent of the French national team, of course).
Chelsea don't have many options in midfield, and although the impressive little Chaloba has played as a midfielder in the youth team as well as on loan, Tuchel still sees him more as a centre-back. The only midfielder sitting on the bench on Saturday night was Ruben Loftus Cheek, but he was not the right man at the back. Tuchel could try to take Mount to the next level or give Ampadur more chances, but that's not ideal.
That's not to say Chelsea aren't aware of the problem. Two goals, Dicland Rice and Orelian Joan Armeni, were on Chelsea's wish list a few months ago, but neither goal is possible to achieve in this window.
First, West Ham's £100 million price tag for Rice is too high and unless there is a dramatic shift in the relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United, Chelsea will try to bring in Rice next year. Joan Ameni is popular within Chelsea, but there are fears that the 21-year-old may need to spend another 12 months in Monaco to gain more experience.
That's why Chelsea are interested in signing Saul Negus on loan from Atletico Madrid. Sources from Spain say the talks broke down before the weekend and the midfielder is not interested in a transfer, but transfers in recent months have proved how quickly the transfer market has changed.
With the Club World Cup in December joining Chelsea's schedule, Chelsea could play more than 60 games in the 2021-22 season. For Kante + Jorginho + Kovacic, coupled with their national team matches, it is an absolute burden.
Tuchel hinted on Friday that the club's signings were far from over, saying: "The transfer window is not over yet, we still have some ideas. We had internal discussions and were working on something at the same time, but not all decisions were made based on our squad. Of course, we have learned some of the situation. ”
There is a suspicion that Tuchel's biggest concern now is the problem of midfield.
(Editor: Yao Fan)