Chelsea poor form saw them finish in 10th in the 2025/26 Premier League table. Chelsea’s poor form also meant that they are going to miss out on European football next season altogether.
The Royal Blues have been prodigal in terms of acquiring players from the transfer market during the last few seasons, but success on the pitch has eluded them mostly. A Club World Cup win and a Conference League triumph are all Chelsea can show for since their UEFA Champions League win in 2021.
How Chelsea Poor Form Could Be Improved by a Top Defensive Midfielder
It seems inconceivable that Chelsea would need another player in any position after having spent billions during the past few seasons. However, the fact remains that Chelsea have an underwhelming defence, and they could have improved it by having another top defensive midfielder.
Chelsea have been playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation primarily for the last five years or so. They have a top holding midfielder in Moises Caicedo, but the Ecuadorian’s partner in the double-pivot has kept changing.
Enzo Fernandez has mostly played in more attacking positions this season and has 13 goals to his credit. Caicedo has partnered with Andrey Santos and Romeo Lavia, neither of whom has been particularly impressive.
This has put some pressure on the centre-backs like Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin and Levi Colwill. If we take a look at Chelsea’s line-ups during the last two decades, their most successful teams had a couple of quality holding midfielders.
Chelsea are one of the 14 teams in Premier League this season to have conceded more than 50 goals. Thus the addition of a Chelsea defensive midfielder could solve their problem.
Chelsea Defensive Midfielders Under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte
Mourinho’s multiple title-winning team had Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack, each of whom could do his duty as a holding midfielder.
Conte’s Premier League-winning team had the duo of N’Golo Kanté and Nemanja Matic as the Chelsea defensive midfielders.
Both of them contributed by playing in a 3-4-3 formation.
That just goes on to show what Chelsea have been missing and what keeps contributing towards Chelsea’s poor form.
Caicedo cost them more than $100 million, but his performance has justified his signing. However, without any able ally by his side, he has not been able to protect the defence always.
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Will Xabi Alonso Act on It?
Xabi Alonso, the recently appointed manager of Chelsea, was himself a defensive midfielder.
Acquiring another player might not be a priority for him, given the kind of money the club has already spent. However, if they are able to sell Enzo Fernandez at a huge price, they can use the money to acquire a top holding midfielder. It remains to be seen whether a defensive midfielder becomes a Chelsea transfer target.
However, the least he can do is make sure that Lavia forms a successful partnership with Caicedo in the middle of the pitch. It is very important to improve the poor Chelsea form. As of now, not being able to play in European competitions is totally not acceptable for a club of Chelsea’s size and stature.
It remains to be seen how Alonso decides to address that obvious problem at hand. The Royal Blues’ supporters will hope that the 44-year-old Spaniard will do the needful to address the issue and thereby improve the Chelsea’s poor form by having a proper Chelsea transfer target.
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Credit: IMAGO / Action Plus
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