Chelsea Currently enjoy the last international break of the 2024/25 campaign and that came in a good time for Enzo MarescaSide, which arsenal beaten 1-0 in Premier league on Sunday.
The Blues are still in a big position in the division, in fourth place, and are fighting for the insurance of the Champions League for the next season.
Last summer, Maresca came to Stamford Bridge from the newly stamped Leicester City and was supported by a panel in a transfer window, because like Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Kiernana Dewsbury-Hall and Filip Jorgensen, among other things, brought to the meeting.
Unfortunately, however, the net is the only one of those players who established himself as a regular option for managers, starting 16 of his 26 Performances in the Premier League.
Defense and goalkeeper was a question for Chelsea after deciding to hire defense reinforcements of big money last summer, as they admitted 37 times in 29 League matches – more than any of the three teams ahead of them.
One position that the blues did not fulfill in the last seasons was the position number six – the display in front of the defense to attack.
The best middle player in Chelsea’s history
Chelsea has enjoyed the luxury that over the years, during their successful periods in the Premier League in the past, he has some exceptional midfielders in his team over the years.
Claude Makelele joined the club from Real Madrid in the summer of 2023 and continued Play 217 times For London giants, victory Two Premier League titles and two league trophies.
He Played 36 times In the top flight in the 2004/05 title winning season for Chelsea, in which there is only a side received 15 goals. This remains a defensive record in the league and illustrates how much the difference has a top midfielder holding a midfielder.
The performances of the French Titan in the midfielder base were so good that the official Chelsea website even recognized that term ‘Makelele role‘It is often used to describe the position of number six. The fact that his name is used as synonymous with the role is about how effective he was in him.
The Tifo Football video explains exactly what the “Makelele role” was, because it was often the deepest midfielder in the 4-3-3 or 4-1-2-1-2-2–2—-was dial system.
Nowadays, the Manchester City star and the current Ballon D’Or Rodri is a great example of what the modern ‘makelele of the role’ looks like, how the Spaniard sitting in front of the back and helps to feed two more attackers with 4-3-3 in it.
The Chelsea Committee may have, however, just signed a player who could be revealed as a new version of the Makelele at the club, in the sports defense midfielder Dario Essugo.
Why could Dario Essugo be Claude Makelele 2.0
First, the Blues officially completed the signing of Geovany Quena and Essugo from Portuguese giants this week, on the eve of the summer transition window.
Quenda will spend the 2025/26 campaign on loan in Sporting before being officially related to their new teammates in the summer of 2026, while the star in the middle could join the first team this summer.
As explained in the top recording, the Giants Premier League agreed to spend up to £ 60m to sign two young starlets and consider Essugo Club “Ball winner”.
They also explained that Chelsea was impressed this season with a ‘rapid’ Development of a Loan in Las Palmas in Las Palmas, which talks about his ability to take information and improve himself as a player.
The 20-year-old star spent a season on loan in Spanish top flight and started all 17 of her performances in Laliga, gaining valuable experience in one of the major European leagues.
At the age of 20, Essugo is far from the finished article and there are some areas of his game that should improve, such as his discipline, as it was Sent twice as early as 2025.
The latest signing of Chelsea, which also has quality to score goals like the upper clip, could initially arrive at Stamford Bridge as a spare or rotational option, with the aim of developing in a vital player for Marec in the future.
Already during his stay in Laliga, he showed an abundance of promising signs. Talent Scout Jacek Kulig described him as “one man’s army“In the middle of the field after seeing him playing for Las Palmas.
His statistics for the Spanish side compared to the form of Moises Caicedo in the Premier League for Chelsea this season illustrates how impressive his defensive instincts are in position number six.
|
24/25 season of 90 |
Dario Essugo (Laliga) |
Moises Caicedo (Premier League) |
|---|---|---|
|
Required river |
2.26 |
1.77 |
|
Interceptions |
1.91 |
1.45 |
|
Spaces |
2.26 |
1.42 |
|
Blocked shots |
0.55 |
0.32 |
|
Percentage of dristable |
62.2% |
62.1% |
|
Air battles beat |
1.37 |
0.89 |
|
Statistics through FBREF |
||
As you can see in the table above, Essugo surpassed an Ecuadorian international in a multitude of key defense metrics at the foot of this term Las Palmas.
These statistics suggest that it has the potential to offer a better screen in front of the defense in the end than Caicedo, as it can make more challenges and intercepts to reduce attacks and create a counterattack for blues.
Essugo, who also finished 86% of his passage attempts In Laliga, he sits at the midfielder base and reads a great game to get at the right time to make vital interventions to prevent his defense too much.
Because of this, Maresca could discover the new Chelsea Makelele, releasing Portuguese talent next season, or in the seasons to come, because it seemingly has all the attributes to perform ‘Makelele roles’.
Akin
Chelsea struggles to sign a “fearless” 35 pound attacker compared to Palmer
The Bluesi placed their view forward with similar games as Talisman Cole Palmer.
However, it is now on Essugo to arrive in Cobham in the summer and fight for earnings in the initial XI, and then to live with Makelele’s heritage in that position – however difficult it may be – to continue and become the favorite of the fans at Stamford Bridge.
