Chelsea are planning for a new season and the Blues cannot wait for that to start. The loss to Sunderland would certainly be a bitter pill to swallow as the London club were looking to end the season on a high but losing against a side who are fighting for their lives in the Premier League certainly is not the best thing for incoming manager Antonio Conte to see.
The Italian will have a lot of work on his hands if the Blues are to regain their position in the footballing hierarchy in England. The former Juventus manager knows that he does have to bring in some personnel from Italy and one player who has been constantly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge has been Radja Nainggolan.
The Roma midfielder might not be the best in the world but he does have a lot of bite and tenacity as he runs about and makes life difficult for the opposition on the pitch. This facet of his game could be the missing ingredient in the Chelsea midfield, which has struggled a lot, well most of the team have struggled this season as well.
Chelsea have the creativity they need in the midfield with Cesc Fabregas pulling the strings in midfield while Nemanja Matic has been the rock that ensures the opposition cannot launch attacks on the defence of Chelsea.
The 28-year-old Nainggolan would provide another dynamic to the Chelsea midfield. The Belgian would be the engine that every team needs, he does have a battery like the Duracell bunny and he just will not quit no matter what the score line is for the team. That is the kind of player that Chelsea have missed this season, someone who will take the game to the opposition from one end of the pitch to another.
Nainggolan isn’t known for his goal scoring record or for his assists, he is there to make life tough for the opposition and that is what he will do. He is a great passer of the ball and has great control as well. His greatest ability is his tackling and positioning, something which he has learned thanks to his years in the Serie A playing for Roma.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny had this to say to FourFourTwo regarding the rumours of Nainggolan moving to Stamford Bridge:
“He’s not afraid of anyone and he will fight for 90 minutes in every game. Combine that with very advanced technical skills and you have a complete player.
“If I was Chelsea manager, I’d buy him in a heartbeat. But I hope it’s not the case and that he’ll stay with us.”
That lack of fear that Nainggolan possesses would make him the perfect option for any Premier League club. The Chelsea midfield too would be set with the Belgian joining the side. It would be Nainggolan and Fabregas who would be the two midfielders who play in an advanced role while Nemanja Matic would do the cleaning up position behind them.
Nainggolan could be the missing jigsaw to make the Chelsea midfield world class again, the only question is, how much would the Blues have to pay to get his services from Italy to England?