Chelsea looking to add more midfield steel — report

Although some could argue that the midfield duo of Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kanté already provide Chelsea with enough defensive power, the Blues might still be looking to add more steel to the position — especially with John Obi Mikel potentially exiting the club soon and young Nathaniel Chalobah being the only true defensive backup option. And so, as the Daily Mirror reported a couple days ago, Chelsea are potentially looking at Inter Milan's Geoffrey Kondogbia or Sevilla's Steven N'Zonzi.

Kondogbia was acquired by Inter two summers ago from Monaco for €31 million, but has failed to justify his hefty price tag so far. This season, the 23-year-old has struggled to find playing time under manager Frank de Boer. De Boer was recently sacked, but an apparently disgruntled Kondogbia still wants to leave the club.

Meanwhile, the former Blackburn and Stoke City standout N'Zonzi has fared quite well since joining Sevilla last year, helping them take their third consecutive and fifth overall Europa League title in May. Unlike Kondogbia, N’Zonzi remains an important figure at the Rojiblancos, and that could make it difficult for Chelsea to acquire him. (Ed. note: Perhaps this rumor dovetails in some way with the Fàbregas rumor, even though the two midfielders are a fair bit different.)

Both big men have their pros and cons as potential additions to the Chelsea squad. Kondogbia is still young and quite strong but also a bit too one-dimensional in his play. He’s a good defensive player (or at least was with Sevilla and Monaco) but does not provide much outside of that. N'Zonzi is more well-rounded in his play, but he's also older and probably less available. That said, neither player would be a cheap option, and spending too much on backups is not a very good plan in general.