Chelsea have made reinforcing their midfield a priority for the summer transfer window and they are already active in trying to recruit a new star. The Blues pulled out of the running to sign Miguel Ugarte but have since laid eyes on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia with their options in the centre of the pitch set to be overhauled for Mauricio Pochettino.
Jorginho departed in January, while Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are set to depart the club and N'Golo Kante's contract will expire in the coming weeks. The Blues will hope to utlise Enzo Fernandez higher up the pitch than they have been able to thus far but until the west London side add new arrivals, he is set to be short of partners.
With the aforementioned trio on their way out of the club, Pochettino will be looking for candidates to base his midfield around and that has often relied upon a player who is not only disciplined in the centre of midfield but one who can aggressively win the ball too. Michel Vorm, who played under the former Spurs boss in north London, believes such a role is crucial for Pochettino.
The retired Netherlands goalkeeper even hinted whoever Chelsea find, may be required to exhibit the qualities of Kante, no easy task, to facilitate the pressing that Pochettino demands.
Vorm told the Byline: "Victor [Wanyama] was that type of player in front of the defence who was just killing it, playing it to the right players and doing his job like that and also making the runs. He was so important that season, like Kante I think in the beginning when he came to Chelsea, these kind of players who are so attacking but also so fit, but attacking in the sense of defensively. I think that kind of position is so key in a team especially if you want to move forward the way that we pressed with Spurs and the fitness we had was second to none."
He added: "I've never seen attackers who run that much. We had to, everyone had to as a team."
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The Blues' fitness has been called into question this season, with caretaker boss Lampard lamenting his side's lack of 'capacity' to compete with the opposition regularly during his stint in charge. Reflecting on Pochettino's time at PSG, Vorm suggested this will be a non-negotiable to find success.
"You need everyone on board, they [PSG] have amazing qualities and they will win you games but if you look at the bigger picture, I think Manchester City is the best example, you look how much Kevin De Bruyne works even though he is one of the best players in the team it says it all," Vorm added. "If he doesn't do the work, it's not going to happen. There's a reason why they have been so successful and are in the Champions League final again. PSG obviously has lots and lots of talent but it all starts with hard work. That talent will still be there but if you also put in the work and not only for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90-plus minutes then you will make the difference."
Chelsea have opened talks with Southampton for the signature of 19-year-old midfielder Lavia having scouted him across last season, and are also set to push for Caicedo, as they compete with Arsenal to land the Ecuador international. Neither player is set to come cheap with £50million suggested for the Saints star who impressed against the Blues back in August last year, while Brighton will be hoping for £80million or more for their charge.
Pochettino could take hold of a new-look midfield for Chelsea with Andrey Santos set to arrive at Cobham for pre-season and Cesare Casadei also staking his claim having netted seven goals in six games having captained Italy to the final of the under-20 World Cup.
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