Chelsea have room in their squad to add a new midfielder to the ranks.

The Blues waved goodbye to veteran midfielder Cesc Fabregas earlier this month, with the Spaniard going AS Monaco, and they could venture into the transfer market to bring in a replacement.

Now they could give more game time to youngster Ethan Ampadu, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has hinted as much but as we know The Blues like readymade recruits.

The Mirror are stating that the Premier League giants are in talks with Zenit Saint Petersburg over midfielder Leandro Parades, with a fee of £24m being rumoured.

So what would the Stamford Bridge club be getting if they were to purchase Parades? 

Well the defensive midfielder has nine international caps for his native Argentina. He made the preliminary squad for last summer’s World Cup but was omitted from the final selection.

He started his career with Argentine superpower side Boca Juniors.

Before his move to Russia, Leandro spent three years in Italy playing for Empoli, AS Roma and Chievo. His spell in Serie A will have caught the attention of Sarri.

He’s a tenacious middle-man that puts his foot in but his fierce tackling doesn’t go unnoticed with referees. He’s picked up six yellow cards in fifteen Russian Premier League games so far this term. Going by that, he’ll have to work on improving his disciplinary record if he were to arrive in England.

Jorginho had a fantastic start to the season at The Bridge but the former Napoli man has since had a dip in form. I believe that the Italian international will come good again but it might be better if he’s got competition for his place and gets a much needed rest.

That competition could come from Leandro Parades.

The twenty-four year old is a holding player that can pass the ball. Whoscored have his passing success rates up at 87.5%. He’s also capable of dribbling the ball forward and picking out key passes. The player can even venture forward and get a goal too. In his forty-three appearances in the Russian top flight, Parades has scored seven times and created seven assists.

We all know that Maurizio enjoys playing with a holding midfielder that keeps the ball moving, have plenty of touches and is efficient with their passing.

French World Cup winner N’Golo Kante has been shifted out onto the right because his passing isn’t smart or quick enough.

Sarri might believe that Ampadu isn’t ready to take on the role on a regular basis, he said this about the subject to The Metro:

‘Of course, playing as a central midfielder in our team is not easy. We need to try and try and try in training, but I think that he (Ethan Ampadu) is able to do it.

‘In the future maybe [he can play the Jorginho role], but we have to work.

‘The player who plays in that position usually touches about 120, 130 balls [per game], and so I think we need a specialist there.’

Parades could be seen as that readymade specialist.

He’s a player that can dictate play and create from a deep role. His vision for a pass can be sublime and he has the quality to rake a ball out to either wing and start dangerous attacks. The Argentine is also composed when under pressure, take the ball beyond opponents with a neat dribble and he’s also dangerous from set-piece positions. 

If Chelsea want to bring in added competition for the defensive midfield berth, one that can also be used as a deep laying play-maker, then Leandro Paredes would certainly offer that and more. 

If The Blues can bring him in for a fee of £24m then I think that would be a smart move. I just hope that Maurizio Sarri still finds the time to give Ethan Ampadu his chances at Stamford Bridge. 

 

 

Posted on January 15th, 2019 by scott
Filed under: Article