Chelsea ‘weigh up’ bid for Leandro Paredes — report

With Brighton & Hove Albion looking ever more likely to hang on to Moisés Caicedo this summer, Chelsea have been linked with a few alternative midfield signings — all cheaper, less capable, and not quite the same profile, but I suppose if they were more Caicedo-esque, we might’ve actually moved on them already.

In any case, the latest in this line is Leandro Paredes, who had been linked with Chelsea a couple times before, most notably in January 2019, when he was going to be our replacement for Cesc Fàbregas. Instead, he ended up going to PSG, where he’s been ever since (albeit with a loan to Juventus last season). He now only has one year left on his contract and seems to be quite clearly surplus to requirements.

(Incidentally, Paredes not coming to Chelsea gave Ruben Loftus-Cheek more opportunities, resulting in his best half-season for Chelsea ever — that is, until the unfortunate and career-altering Achilles injury, though that’s not the point I’m trying to make somewhat obliquely here.)

So, Chelsea are said to be “weighing up” a bid for Paredes once again, as per the Evening Standard. The 29-year-old doesn’t fit our current transfer market m.o. at all, but he is certainly experienced and already worked with Pochettino at PSG for that year and a half. He’s also played with Enzo in the Argentina national team.

But surely, this is exactly the type of signing we need to be avoiding — throwing money at a mid-level player who doesn’t really fix a need and just clutters up the squad and the wage bill. Not wasting money on Paredes and his ilk just might open up the opportunity needed for the next Loftus-Cheek, the next Mason Mount, the next Academy standout instead.