Chelsea will look to ease the pressure on their key midfield duo at some point during upcoming transfer windows.
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Chelsea will reportedly make another central midfielder a priority signing come the end of the 2025/26 campaign to ease the burden on key duo Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
Enzo Maresca’s side boast one of the best midfield partnerships in the league with both Caicedo and Fernandez world class operators in the centre of the park. However, the Blues are heavily reliant on the two workhorses.
Chelsea have back-ups in the likes of Romeo Lavia but it is the 21-year-old’s poor injury record that is pushing Chelsea to invest once again. Lavia is currently sidelined having picked up an injury in the Champions League against Qarabag last month, with no indication as of yet to when he might return.
Chelsea to prioritise midfield signing come summer 2026
The London outfit did reinforce this summer with Andrey Santos back from his loan at Strasbourg while Dario Essugo arrived from Sporting Lisbon. Santos and Essugo are both promising options but not players who offer the same experience and reliability as Fernandez and Caicedo.
While The Athletic reports that any significant Chelsea investment into another senior midfielder will wait until the summer, the Blues could do worse than pouncing on a player who looks set to be on the move in January. That’s Al-Hilal man and former Wolves player Ruben Neves.
The Portugal international moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023 but Football Insider reports that the player could move back to the Premier League for £15 million in January. Al-Hilal paid £47 million to sign Neves from Wolves but, with the midfielder's contract up this summer, he could be available for a fraction of that.
Chelsea should move for £15 million ex Wolves man
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are both named as potential suitors for Neves and Chelsea should join the queue in making an enquiry. While Neves isn’t a name to bring the excitement of Cole Palmer, Willian Estevao or Geovany Quenda, he could be an important player.
The former Wolves man has 177 Premier League appearances to his name with 21 goals. Chelsea are a team who are more and more reliant on youth but those defensive midfield positions need to be held by reliable performers to allow rising stars to excel.
Neves has all the hallmarks of a player who could step in for Caicedo and Fernandez. Importantly, he stays off the treatment table too. The midfielder is in his prime at 28 years old and has played over 3,600 minutes in each of the previous two campaigns.
With Chelsea youthful and having been criticised for discipline, Neves’ commanding presence could be a real boost. Speaking about Neves while at Wolves in 2021, former manager Nuno Espirito Santo said: “What I see is a player that is very important for us. He is a fantastic player. He’s a player that is one of the captains of the team. He’s been at Wolves for four seasons now. A lot of that he has sustained his level of performance and become a better player than when he arrived very young.
“Playing in the Championship was very different to his own reality. This is what I see in Ruben. Now he is one of the senior players in the squad who has responsibilities and he is able and capable to do much better than he did before. The talent, determination and work-ethic is there.”
Any move for Neves would have to come in January with a Saudi exit imminent but, for a bargain £15 million, this could be a shrewd piece of business for Chelsea and get a summer 2026 recruitment priority sorted ahead of time.
In other news, 'Even Today': John Terry names one Chelsea moment that still keeps him awake at night.