PSG midfielder wants out, but should Chelsea get involved?

The big transfer news today is coming out of Ligue 1. Specifically, it's coming out of Paris, where PSG midfielder Marco Verratti wants out. Having joined the French champions last summer from Pescara on fairly low wages, Verratti has caught the eye with some rather flashy passing, and now his agent is fielding some lucrative offers from Champions League clubs. So far, at least, Chelsea are not amongst them.

Should we be? The conventional answer is yes -- Verratti's considered to be Andrea Pirlo's heir for Italy, and Andrea Pirlo is (still) reckoned to be one of the best midfielders going at present. But Verratti seems to me like fool's gold than the real deal at present, because all he can do is pass. His defensive work isn't anything to write home about and his movement is almost spectacular in its nonexistence.

I mean, his passing is genuinely fantastic, but we already have a great-passer-and-not-much-else guy on the books at Chelsea and many are wondering if Josh McEachran even has a future with the club at present. This assessment of Verratti might come back to haunt me in a couple of years, but I just cannot see his style working in a more frenetic environment than the Paris Saint-Germain midfield (and it's notable that Carlo Ancelotti benched him for the remnants of David Beckham when PSG played Barcelona).

Verratti might turn into an impact player someday, but the hype around him is such that he'll cost a lot of money right now. That means he needs to help whichever team acquires him immediately. I don't think he'd be able to do that at Stamford Bridge -- he's a much better fit in a different league.