Chelsea's forgotten summer transfer target they could turn to as Caidedo alternative

Stuart Telford

• 27 Jan 2023 16:10 GMT
• 3 min read

Brighton are playing hardball for Moises Caicedo, as are Benfica with Enzo Fernandez. Chelsea could do worse than revisit last summer's transfer plans…

Chelsea want a central midfielder with Jorginho and N'Golo Kante the wrong side of 30, out of contract at the end of this season, and the latter increasingly impeded by injury.

But American billionaire Todd Boehly has spent €460 million on player transfers since succeeding Roman Abramovich as owner last May, and selling clubs are all too aware of his deep pockets.

READ: Who is Edson Alvarez? Ajax's midfield machine targeted by Chelsea

Brighton reportedly want £100m (€114m) for Caidedo, a player they paid €5m for in February 2021, while Benfica are insisting that Fernandez's €120m release clause is met having only signed the Argentine World Cup winner last summer.

To make matters worse for the Blues, Everton reportedly have no intention of selling Chelsea's Plan C, Amadou Onana. It could be high time to revisit the Edson Alvarez transfer that fell through last summer.

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) May 3, 2022

Chelsea wanted the Mexican defensive midfielder, but Ajax were simply unwilling to budge having haemorrhaged assets like Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Sebastien Haller, and short of players in his position. But the player's interest in a move persists.

READ: Five Enzo Fernandez alternatives for Chelsea

Alvarez 'fought for the move'

''There was interest from Chelsea, of course," he told ESPN in October. "I fought as hard as I could [for the move]. "It’s a better league, a better life for yourself and for your family - because that's what it's all about in the end."

Alvarez may have been a Thomas Tuchel target, and the German has since been replaced by Graham Potter as Chelsea's head coach, but at 25 the player doesn't jar much with Boehly's 'Vision 2030' philosophy for the club, and his performances haven't dipped.

No player in the Eridivisie has won more aeriel challenges over the last year as the Ajax man - 3.41 per 90 minutes - while he is in the 90th percentile among midfielders league-wide for both tackles and shots.

Alvarez is rated at €31.1m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm and Ajax would reportedly be willing to accept €50m - a significant saving on Caicedo et al - for a player with another two years to run on his deal at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Chelsea could do worse than test them.