Todd Boehly pledges £200m: 5 signings Chelsea NEED this summer

Yves Bissouma – Brighton (25)

One week ago, this slot would have been reserved for Aurélien Tchouaméni. He would have been a near perfect and seamless fit into the midfield of Chelsea but with the agreed transfer to Real Madrid, we must look elsewhere.

Yves Bissouma is a name that has long been linked with a move to a team of a higher pedigree after proving central to Graham Potter’s impressive Brighton side. Already very accustomed to the shape that Chelsea play, he is mainly one who drops deeper and helps create in the build-up phase of play. One of his many traits lie in the constant engine he has and the ability to recover the ball, something that can be likened to that of N’golo Kanté.

When he is paired up with another defensively sound midfielder, he can usually get further forward up the pitch and is given more freedom to do so which allows his technical ability to shine through. He wins 2.13 of his 3.11 tackles per 90, good for 89th percentile and a midblowing 99th percentile rating in his ground duels out of possession.

In Layman’s terms, Bissouma is up there as one of the best midfielders in recovering the ball by way of ground duels. He isn’t as press resistant as current Chelsea man Mateo Kovačić and his ball retention ability will need to improve under Tuchel, however, his defensive quality more than makes up for this aspect of his game.

Whether this will be a priority position for Chelsea is up in the air but with two years remaining on his deal, Brighton may look to cash in on Bissouma. The Times report a fee in the region of £30m may be enough to see the Seagulls part ways with their most prized asset and if the scale of Todd Boehly’s investment is to be believed, appears a relatively straightforward deal to get across the line.

Whether new owner Todd Boehly will be able to replicate the undeniable success experienced under his predecessor Roman Abramovich remains purely speculation, but a degree of order will no doubt be met with appreciation by Chelsea fans.