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Chelsea have still got several crucial problems to solve following their heavy defeat against Manchester City. A laboured win against Malmo in the Europa League clash does not necessarily mean that Chelsea are progressing towards an escape from the crisis and the unconvincing win could even cast further doubt in Maurizio Sarri’s capabilities.
The Blues now have got at least three critical problems to solve which derived from the midfield, right back, and striker position. Maurizio Sarri is now becoming too reliant in Azpilicueta to fill the right-back post and he even placing the Spaniard as a starter against Malmo, making Zappacosta’s future look worse.
Kovacic and Jorginho could not contribute much in Chelsea’s end product so far because they are rarely scoring goals or making key passes, leaving Kante and Barkley as the only capable midfielders to help Chelsea’s attack. The Blues are now the least scoring team in the Premier League’s top-six, so they need a sharper and more creative midfielder.
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Giroud does not have much time left at Stamford Bridge while the 31-year-old Higuain seems only a short term fix for Chelsea's striker position. Now we will identify the three players from those three problematic positions who Chelsea should consider to sign.
#1 Luka Jovic
Luka Jovic is now becoming a new phenomenon in the Bundesliga. At just 21 years old, Jovic is now topping the Bundesliga’s goalscoring chart with 14 goals (none from a penalty) and could outscore the likes of Lewandowski, Paco Alcacer and Timo Werner.
Jovic is a young and excellent finisher, and is also capable of creating assists and has got a firm header. These abilities will make him the perfect solution for Chelsea’s ageing strikers and will be more than enough to serve as an upgrade to Giroud.
#2 Franck Kessie
Franck Kessie is now becoming a star man in Gattuso’s squad, playing the full 90 minutes in nearly all of AC Milan’s Serie A matches. A young, creative midfielder, Kessie will be the answer to replace Chelsea’s faltering midfielders Kovacic and Jorginho.
This season Kessie has scored three goals for AC Milan and created about twice of Jorginho and Kovacic’s amount of key passes on average in the league. Kessie also got excellent pass completion rate at 88.7 per cent, making him suitable for Sarri-ball while improving Chelsea’s end product. Chelsea are still seriously tracking the midfielder and could swap him with Tiemoue Bakayoko.
#3 Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is debatably one of the best young right-backs in the Premier League so far. At just 21 years of age, Wan-Bissaka’s defending skill seems to be second to none as he could amass 3.8 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game.
This season, Wan-Bissaka becoming a regular under Roy Hodgson and played nearly all of Crystal Palace’s Premier League matches. He will be perfect as Azpilicueta’s long-term replacement, knowing that the Spaniard is already 29 years old.
Wan-Bissaka could also serve as Sarri’s plan B when Azpilicueta is injured or underperforming. Following Victor Moses’ departure, Chelsea’s over-reliance on Azpilicueta is becoming more evident. As an example, the Blues could get a clean sheet against City in Stamford Bridge when Azpilicueta performed well while they battered 6-0 by the same team at the Etihad following Azpilicueta’s bad form.
