Tchouameni, Verratti and FIVE Chelsea alternatives for Caicedo

Robin Bairner

11 Aug 2023 04:29 CDT
4 min read

Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid watches the French Open tennis, 2023 — © ProShots

Chelsea have seen their summer transfer plans and three months of negotiations go up in smoke with Liverpool’s move to hijack a deal for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

Article continues under the video

It has taken a British record bid from the Reds to beat Chelsea to the 21-year-old Ecuador international, but that is little consolation to the Stamford Bridge side, who will now have to scramble late in the transfer window to find a defensive midfield alternative.

MORE: ‘Enough is enough!’ – Chelsea fans rage at Boehly over Caicedo farce

Romeo Lavia may arrive from Southampton, but even the signing of the young Belgium star would feel anticlimactic against the backdrop of missing out on Caicedo.

So who could Chelsea move for?

Transfer News Today: Caicedo HIJACK, Mbappe's €200m sacrifice, Man Utd WANT Pavard

The fans’ choice

Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid has rapidly emerged as the player that a majority of Chelsea fans are calling out for on social media.

A deal here could be possible. After all, Madrid could make a sale in order to part-fund a transfer for PSG’s Kylian Mbappe this summer.

MORE: Moises Caicedo is set to make the WRONG transfer decision

Is he the player that Chelsea want, though?

Stylistically, they operated very similar roles last season. Tchouameni was a deep-lying playmaker, which is what Caicedo primarily was for Brighton.

The Ecuador star, though, was more than this. He was more energetic and provided a greater box-to-box presence than the France man – but there is a sense that Tchouameni could replicate that with a move to Chelsea.

Pochettino’s choice?

If Mauricio Pochettino wants a player to act as a deep-lying playmaker in his side, he could do worse than look towards his former PSG protégé Marco Verratti.

There is no doubt that Verratti offers more in possession than both Tchouameni and Caicedo, although at 30 years old, he is outside the typical profile that Chelsea sign. Available for transfer from PSG, though, a deal here might be rather smoothly concluded, and Pochettino has said he “loves” the player.

The downsides to Verratti are a lesser physical presence and smaller defensive numbers, plus some fitness concerns.

MORE: Chelsea’s PERFECT Caicedo alternative is transfer listed – and Poch ‘LOVES’ him

What the stats say

When making a stylistic comparison to Moises Caicedo, with a focus on the Brighton midfielder’s chief strengths of passing, recoveries and offensive positioning, data analytics experts SciSports provide three interesting names.

Top of these is Newcastle’s Joe Willock, who is unlikely to be sold to a top-four rival on the eve of the Premier League season.

Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure is another interesting name on the list, with the former Lens star having put up a quietly impressive first season in the Premier League.

Finally, Dynamo Moscow’s Arsen Zakharyan is also listed. A more attacking player than Caicedo, the 20-year-old Russian has been extensively linked to Chelsea and might even have made the move to Stamford Bridge before the invasion of Ukraine saw a deal stall.

He offers a high ceiling but is clearly the weakest immediate option for Chelsea – which is what the Blues and Pochettino need.