With Chelsea revealing their newest signing in Portugal midfielder Deco earlier this week, is Chelsea's midfield becoming slightly
overcrowded at the moment? The addition of the 7.9 million - which in
today's football market
makes him a relative bargain - man to the Blues' midfield now means that Chelsea have a total of five recognised, regular featuring
central midfielders in their squad, throw in the likes of Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Philips, just how is Luiz Felipe Scolari going to
accommodate them in his side?
Last season Michael Essien was sometimes played at right back when-injuries to Paulo Ferreira required him to but with the 20 million
capture of Bosingwa from Porto, this unfavourable request looks unlikely to be needed again for the coming campaign.
Essien is seen as one of Chelsea's star assets after being named as their best player of the 2006-07 campaign by the clubs supporters
and as he is reaching his peak it would be a good bet that the Ghanaian will feature heavily in next season's title push.
Claude Makelele is often used when the Blues play abroad in Europe or when they come up against some of the stronger Premiership sides
and his role looks to be limited even further by Deco's transfer. Rumours have been slow in building as to the Frenchman's future at
The Bridge but it would be highly unlikely that the World Cup winner would be willing to move to a smaller top-flight team and it
would be no surprise if he ran out the remainder of his contract in South West London.
Michael Ballack has had a superb Euro 2008 campaign and was one of Chelsea's form players after Christmas last time out, leading to
the boys from SW6 verging on an unlikely Premiership and Champions League double - eventually being thwarted at the last on both
occasions.
His steely determination, set-piece ability and eye for the killer pass should prove vital for the Blues next season and the player
appears perfectly happy to stay at the club, no doubt the supporters will feel exactly the same, so that's two of the four -
predictably - midfield places but where does that leave one of Chelsea's mainstays in Frank Lampard?
The Essex boy - along with John Terry and Carlo Cudicini - makes up just a trio of players whom were plying their trade with the West
London side in the pre-Abramovich era but now it seems that the trio will be left as a duo or even reduced to just one before the end
of the Summer.
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been quoted as saying that Lampard is a player he will be looking to bring to the Giuseppe
Meazza this season but has also admitted that Chelsea are understandably not willing to sell the player - remove Didier Drogba from
the equation and Lampard has been the cubs top scorer since Abramovich's takeover.
The other component of said trio - Cudicini - has been linked with a move to Blackburn under new manager Paul Ince as the club
look to add depth to their squad for next season but a move to the Lancashire club would surely mean continuing as number two and a
pay-cut, something which the Italian may not look favourably upon.
So what of the new boy? Well Deco had a fantastic Euro 2008 overshadowing even Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal's key player and a
true linchpin of the midfield. He has won the Champions League with Barcelona and has made the final of the European Championships
in 2004. His place alongside the likes of Ballack and Essien in Chelsea's midfield would be well deserved if and - expectedly - when
Big Phil names his starting XI against Portsmouth on the opening weekend of the new Premiership season. With Chelsea's new strength
in midfield they would be
good odds
for next season's title.
His ability to create and score goals and his rugged determination will add further strength to an already granite-like Chelsea
midfield, many Blues fans will be hoping though that - like many Chelsea signings - his experience of victory in the Champions League
will boost their fight to claim the illusive trophy for the first time in their 103 year history.
Columnist: John Ford, 2008-07-03.
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Where are they all going to fit ? 