Those who surmised that the rumors yesterday of Chelsea “exploring a move” for Douglas Luiz were a result of something happening to one of our midfielders are being proven right today, with head coach
Liam Rosenior confirming that Dario Essugo has suffered a setback just as he was getting ready to make his season debut.
Essugo hasn’t played since the Club World Cup in the summer due to a hamstring injury that required surgery, but apparently he’s managed to re-injure himself in training this week. He had been named in the matchday squad the last couple times, so this comes at a most frustrating time.
“Dario picked up a really unfortunate injury. He slipped in training and he’s going to be out for a while, over a month, which is a real shame because he’s an outstanding player as well that I was really looking forward to working with.
“Romeo’s on the way back, which is great because he can say about every player outstanding. He’s a very, very good player at a very high level. [..] I want him back as quickly as possible. But I want him back as quickly as possible with no more injuries. That’s the difference. […] I want Lavia to come back in a place where we know they can get game time and get repetitive games.”
With Essugo out “for a while” once again, and Romeo “On His Way Back” Lavia seemingly no closer to being a real player anytime soon, it would certainly make more sense to bring in some temporary help. I still don’t think it’s an absolute necessity — Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo, Andrey Santos, and Reece James should be able to handle the workload — some veteran helpful wouldn’t go amiss.
Unfortunately, Douglas Luiz has had more than his fair share of injury troubles in last couple years, so I’m not sure that’s the best solution for us in this case.
“In terms of my midfield options you’ve got Enzo, Moi, Andrey Santos, Reece James. It’s not bad. I’ve been really clear on this. I don’t want to bring in players that don’t enhance the group or the chemistry that we’re building. So we have to be very selective at this stage of the season. If we do bring in the right player in a certain position, they have to have a clear impact on the team.”
-Liam Rosenior; source: Football.London
The Telegraph claim that N’Golo Kanté (!!) and Ruben Neves are “thought to be available for loan this month” as well, as Chelsea “assess their options”. Kanté on loan? Now we’re talking! (At 34 and fit as a fiddle these days, NG’s dominating the Saudi Pro League and is still in the frame for the France national team in a World Cup year.)
