We really need at least a new DM, there is no question about it. Here are the 2 players we should take a closer look at from Leicester City:

 

Wilfred Ndidi - 24 y/o, 6 feet tall, a classic DM that we need. Arguably one of the best DM in the whole PL right now, would be sad if he goes to Liverpool so we should sign him.

Wilfred is really good in defense and he can pass the ball at least as good as Kante part from the long range passes I guess... Here are 2 nice videos:

 

 

Some nice article about him:

https://theprideoflondon.com/2021/03/30/chelsea-midfielder-scouting-two-ndidi/5/

Also an obligatory pie chart:

 

On to the second player...

 

Youri Tielemans - 23 y/o, around 5'10.

An all around central midfielder, currently even with a slightly higher value than Ndidi according to transfermarkt.

 

 

 

Both Ndidi and Tielemans are better in basically all the sheer numbers of defensive stats in comparison to Jorginho and Kovacic - From the Premier league website they got a higher amount of interceptions, recoveries, duels won and areal duels won. The only stat that goes in favor by a total number is Kovacic's Successful 50/50s won and that's it.

Now you can argue that both Jorginho and Kovacic are better passers of the ball but it's really not showing when it comes to end product - Tielemans has scored 6 goals and has made 3 assists from open play, in comparison Kovacic has made only 1 assist and 0 goals so far.
Oh but Jorginho has 6 goals and 1 assist, sure sure but all of the goals were from the penalty spot, not a single goal from open play. Ndidi on the other hand has 3 assists and 1 goal which was from open play, against us... And an assist against Liverpool.

If you ask me both of these guys would be a clear upgrade of our squad. Adding that both Ndidi and Tielemans are younger than Jorginho and Kovacic it's a no brainer.

53 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

We really need at least a new DM, there is no question about it. Here are the 2 players we should take a closer look at from Leicester City:

 

Wilfred Ndidi - 24 y/o, 6 feet tall, a classic DM that we need. Arguably one of the best DM in the whole PL right now, would be sad if he goes to Liverpool so we should sign him.

Wilfred is really good in defense and he can pass the ball at least as good as Kante part from the long range passes I guess... Here are 2 nice videos:

 

 

Some nice article about him:

https://theprideoflondon.com/2021/03/30/chelsea-midfielder-scouting-two-ndidi/5/

Also an obligatory pie chart:

 

On to the second player...

 

Youri Tielemans - 23 y/o, around 5'10.

An all around central midfielder, currently even with a slightly higher value than Ndidi according to transfermarkt.

 

 

 

Both Ndidi and Tielemans are better in basically all the sheer numbers of defensive stats in comparison to Jorginho and Kovacic - From the Premier league website they got a higher amount of interceptions, recoveries, duels won and areal duels won. The only stat that goes in favor by a total number is Kovacic's Successful 50/50s won and that's it.

Now you can argue that both Jorginho and Kovacic are better passers of the ball but it's really not showing when it comes to end product - Tielemans has scored 6 goals and has made 3 assists from open play, in comparison Kovacic has made only 1 assist and 0 goals so far.
Oh but Jorginho has 6 goals and 1 assist, sure sure but all of the goals were from the penalty spot, not a single goal from open play. Ndidi on the other hand has 3 assists and 1 goal which was from open play, against us... And an assist against Liverpool.

If you ask me both of these guys would be a clear upgrade of our squad. Adding that both Ndidi and Tielemans are younger than Jorginho and Kovacic it's a no brainer.

Honestly DM is what I think we need the least, we have jorgi, kante, kova and gilmour, James used to play that role and we have some really good talent coming through the youth team at DM. My personal opinion we are really strong there.

I personally would like a strong young CB that Silva can take under his wings as a protege. I think we brought one last summer who's "meant to be the next van Dyke" but he went straight out on loan and I haven't heard much about him since. Just incase he doesnt work out I think another would come in handy.

We also need a prolific goal scorer. Unless we bid for a nearing the end of his career and never likely to leave vardy I dont think LCFC has much to offer us. If DLC from Everton can go without getting injured again between now and january I would go for him. He is a massive arial threat and a clinical finisher but he has spent something like 2 months of this season out injured. I dont know if that's down to the coaches or DLC himself.

For me for in the summer I would like for 1 or 2 CBs and make do with the attackers until January. If DLC goes that half a season without picking up any more serious injuries buy him. If not go for the likes of Halland if still available who's contract has a buy out clause taking effect in January for something like 50 mil

Ndidi we should!

1 hour ago, Malta Blue said:

Honestly DM is what I think we need the least, we have jorgi, kante, kova and gilmour, James used to play that role and we have some really good talent coming through the youth team at DM. My personal opinion we are really strong there.

I personally would like a strong young CB that Silva can take under his wings as a protege. I think we brought one last summer who's "meant to be the next van Dyke" but he went straight out on loan and I haven't heard much about him since. Just incase he doesnt work out I think another would come in handy.

We also need a prolific goal scorer. Unless we bid for a nearing the end of his career and never likely to leave vardy I dont think LCFC has much to offer us. If DLC from Everton can go without getting injured again between now and january I would go for him. He is a massive arial threat and a clinical finisher but he has spent something like 2 months of this season out injured. I dont know if that's down to the coaches or DLC himself.

For me for in the summer I would like for 1 or 2 CBs and make do with the attackers until January. If DLC goes that half a season without picking up any more serious injuries buy him. If not go for the likes of Halland if still available who's contract has a buy out clause taking effect in January for something like 50 mil

Well I agree but IMO we're a bit too thin on that DM position because in practice Jorginho is the only one that actually sits deep and keeps his position. Kante and Kovacic really like to roam and to have more freedom so both of them need someone behind them. I'm hoping to see more of Gilmour because he looks more like a CM than as a DM this season so I'm still waiting for him to get his chance to play more.

You can count that James will be the first choice RB for the future, Dave is getting old now and if we are ever going to play with 2 CBs and not 3 we do need a more classical DM for the future, maybe not as much as we would need a world class CB but it's still very much needed, in the recent times Jorginho has had 2 pretty bad games so it's maybe a sign that he won't be as consistent as he has been previously.

@Gol15 good suggestions. Think either of those two would improve us, certainly if we went to a midfield 3 again. 

Harvey Barnes would be a good signing as well.

Ndidi is a great player but isn’t he constantly injured?

Tielemans would be a great signing. He's proven that his stint at Monaco was an aberration. He really does offer the best of both Jorginho and Kovacic with more actual end product than either and 23 his best years are still to come.

 

Ndidi is also a very good player but his injury record is a bit worrying especially for his age. He doesn't offer as much in attack as Kante currently does but who better to learn from?

Danny Drinkwater Part Deux ? 🙂

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

Danny Drinkwater Part Deux ? 🙂

That was my first thought as well  Thankfully N'Golo Kanté part deux is also an option!

2 minutes ago, Valerie said:

That was my first thought as well  Thankfully N'Golo Kanté part deux is also an option!

You're quite right Val 🙂

All this ESL nonsense has put me in a very negative head space LOL

A raid you say. Where’s the safe ? Or is it an armoured car?

 

Ohhh a mini raid. Like this one:

Doesn’t look a lot like Leicester to me though.

Both Tielemans and ndidi would be fantastic signings. However leicester wouldnt want to lose either, and i think our main priority would be a striker this year. 

I'd rather have James Maddison.

1 hour ago, Oli said:

Both Tielemans and ndidi would be fantastic signings. However leicester wouldnt want to lose either, and i think our main priority would be a striker this year. 

My problem is that even if we sign Haaland we might still struggle because he's playing in a much more open league and if we keep playing with 3 CBs the delivery for Haaland could be minimal. I think the priority should be a CB and an attacker but our midfield that was essentially made 3 seasons ago (Jorginho, Kovacic) still doesn't have any end product.

Don't forget Chelsea is apparently interested in Aurélien Tchouaméni according to Julien Laurens.

 

 

https://lchunhang.medium.com/player-analysis-aurélien-tchouaméni-frances-next-big-midfielder-46f33630d568

Ndidi and Tielemans is only 24 and 23?

I thought they'd be older than that. If the opportunity comes, we should get both if possible.

On 24/04/2021 at 20:18, Upsetter said:

A raid you say. Where’s the safe ? Or is it an armoured car?

 

Ohhh a mini raid. Like this one:

Doesn’t look a lot like Leicester to me though.

Should go for the mini raid - then N’Golo can join in!

On 24/04/2021 at 21:45, Malcolm9 said:

I'd rather have James Maddison.

I'd rather you did as well. 

Don't think anyone will be sold this summer, Rodgers wants to keep the team together and add to it for a season. 

8 minutes ago, foxedup said:

I'd rather you did as well. 

Don't think anyone will be sold this summer, Rodgers wants to keep the team together and add to it for a season. 

Why stop there, take their scouts too. They seem to be good at identifying talents.

15 minutes ago, Deino said:

Why stop there, take their scouts too. They seem to be good at identifying talents.

I think this is the key. How do you understand their scouting and recruitment model and take something from that. They and Liverpool have been the best at this in recent years.

On 29/04/2021 at 12:23, Spiller86 said:

I think this is the key. How do you understand their scouting and recruitment model and take something from that. They and Liverpool have been the best at this in recent years.

We've lost all of our scouts over recent years pretty much, to Everton, Spurs, Arsenal. It's a philosophy more than a person, and not really a way of working bigger teams can follow. Unless they are willing to accept the issues that come with it (inconsistency etc). 

 

10 hours ago, foxedup said:

We've lost all of our scouts over recent years pretty much, to Everton, Spurs, Arsenal. It's a philosophy more than a person, and not really a way of working bigger teams can follow. Unless they are willing to accept the issues that come with it (inconsistency etc). 

 

Inconsistency? Haha. You're talking to the club who has pissed away more than a hundred million on dud strikers in the last 4 seasons. Inconsistency would be a massive improvement!

Take your point though

11 hours ago, foxedup said:

We've lost all of our scouts over recent years pretty much, to Everton, Spurs, Arsenal. It's a philosophy more than a person, and not really a way of working bigger teams can follow. Unless they are willing to accept the issues that come with it (inconsistency etc). 

 

I'd take inconsistency but spending less than 200m on potentially good players.

Chelsea have spent hundreds of millions on useless sh*te like Bakayoko and Zappacosta!

On 29/04/2021 at 12:56, foxedup said:

Don't think anyone will be sold this summer, Rodgers wants to keep the team together and add to it for a season. 

And for your own best he should keep the team you have a good team but since you're so good at finding good players all the time maybe it can be a win-win, you sell us 1 or 2 and get a bit extra cash for them and you're on a positive balance since you'll find equally good players for at least half of the money you just gained, the obvious question now is why would you want to help us... 

20 hours ago, foxedup said:

We've lost all of our scouts over recent years pretty much, to Everton, Spurs, Arsenal. It's a philosophy more than a person, and not really a way of working bigger teams can follow. Unless they are willing to accept the issues that come with it (inconsistency etc). 

 

Welcome Foxedup. What is you opinion on Fofana your young centre-back? Whenever I've watched him this season I have been deeply impressed.

And thank you for n'golo Kante, still an afarkingmazing player for us.