Chelsea are going into the January transfer window with a central midfielder right at the top of their wish list. The Blues have seven midfield players to choose from when all are fit and ready, but there is serious doubt over two of their futures going into the window.
N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are about to enter the final six months of their respective deals at Stamford Bridge and will be free to speak and negotiate with clubs from overseas when the January window opens. From there, the Chelsea duo will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with said clubs and join on a free transfer at the end of the season.
There have been talks over extending Kante's contract, but at the time of writing, nothing is close to being agreed between the two parties. Kante remains injured and is not close to returning to action following a hamstring injury that has kept him out since the second match of the season.
READ MORE: What happened in Chelsea win vs Brentford hints at huge Graham Potter change against Bournemouth
The France international had surgery on the injury and missed the recently-concluded FIFA World Cup. Kante is yet to play under new head coach Graham Potter, who has had to make do without the energy of the 31-year-old in the centre of the pitch.
Aside from the aforementioned duo, Chelsea have Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria and Carney Chukwuemeka to choose from. The latter of the five, Chukwuemeka, who was bought for around £20million in the summer from Aston Villa, has been on the fringes of the first-team this season thus far.
The 19-year-old midfielder has featured just three times in all competitions for Chelsea this term, with all of those appearances coming in the Premier League incidentally. He could be set for a bigger role with the Blues for the remainder of the campaign, however. football.london understands Potter has been mightily impressed with Chukwuemeka during the World Cup break, where the teenager stayed behind while others were on international duty.
The former Aston Villa man took part in Chelsea's warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi and is said to have caught Potter's eye with his attitude and determination in training. We've only seen glimpses of Chukwuemeka in the first-team so far, but already his talent and ability is clear to see.
He made his debut for Chelsea against Wolves at the start of October, where he came on for the final four minutes of the game, so it was difficult to pass any judgement. However, Chukwuemeka was handed a 28-minute cameo aganst Brentford 11 days later and that gave us more of an indication of the teenager's game and he impressed with a couple of dribbles and runs against the Bees in the goalless draw.
Asked about Chukwuemeka's performance, Potter replied: "Well, if you look at these attributes, he's a big powerful boy that can run and run away from people, and in a game like Brentford, you're often in duels and need physicality, and I thought he and Christian [Pulisic] did well when they came on. They affected the game – that was the thinking.
"He's a young player, but he's got exciting attributes. We just need to help him reach his potential because his potential is exciting."
"Exciting", there, being the key word. There's no doubting his potential, but as we've seen with countless youngsters over the year, more than potential is needed to unlock their true talent. The rest is down to the player and luck, essentially, as he relies on his coach to use him in the right way.
But if he is used in the right way, Chelsea may have someone in "the Paul Pogba mould" to call upon. A powerful midfielder that can run with the ball at his feet, making him really difficult to stop while driving in possession.
"A flamboyant, dominating midfielder who is in the Paul Pogba mould," Birmingham Live's Ashley Preece told football.london exclusively in August. "He's very much a No.8 or a No.10, a player who likes to do damage in and around the edge of the 18-yard box. A great dribbler and driver with the ball."
We saw just before the World Cup break that Potter put his trust in Lewis Hall. The Chelsea head coach started the 18-year-old at left wing-back in back-to-back games against Manchester City and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup and Premier League, respectively.
Chukwuemeka was injured for these matches, but seeing Hall be handed a chance will surely encourage him. Potter has shown already during his short stint as Chelsea head coach that he isn't afraid to chuck a teenager into the limelight if they are deemed good enough to succeed. He will be hoping Potter will do something similar for the Blues' upcoming matches.
Despite this, Chelsea are still looking for midfielders for when next month's window opens. Edson Alvarez is someone the club remain keen on after failing with a £43million offer over the summer window. Declan Rice is the club's main target, but a move in the middle of the season is deemed as virtually impossible; making next summer more likely with West Ham wary of his contract situation.
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