Maurizio Sarri hasn’t had the best of starts with Chelsea in his first season in charge of the club. The Italian, who had a phenomenal run with Napoli in Serie A, couldn’t replicate his famous “Sarriball” system at the London club, which has seen the Blues struggle to cement a place in the top four of the league.
Sarri’s team have depended on talisman Eden Hazard to deliver the goods in the attacking third, but average performances in other areas of the pitch have scuppered Chelsea’s hopes of challenging for the title.
The Italian brought influential midfielder Jorginho with him from Napoli, but the Brazil-born Italian international hasn’t got to grips with the English style of play and has been criticised from all quarters for his abject performances in defence and offence.
Now, Chelsea have been linked with Brazilian midfielder Thiago Mendes, as per Duncan Castles (via Daily Star). Mendes has had a brilliant season with French side Lille, who turned around their fortunes, finishing second in the league after a relegation scare in last season’s campaign.
Is Mendes a Sarri type player?
Mendes is a box-to-box player with bundles of energy, and a player who can break and intercept opposition passes. The Brazilian has an 84.3% pass completion rate and an average of 56 passes in Ligue 1 this season, while also averaging 2.4 tackles every game (stats courtesy Whoscored).
Mendes is not a like-for-like replacement for Jorginho, and has qualities that the Italian international has lacked: quickness, tenacity, and the willingness to run up and down the pitch. But the Brazilian midfielder could be the perfect player for Sarri to implement his Sarriball style of play as he can add some much-needed pace and dynamism in midfield, which Chelsea have sorely lacked.
Perhaps Jorginho can show his true colours alongside a player like Mendes and the ever-reliable N’Golo Kanté, as the other midfield options currently at Chelsea – Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovačić, have blown hot and cold.
Mendes will be available at a cheap price too, with reports suggesting that Chelsea could get their player at €30 million in the summer. Reports suggest that Chelsea have scouted Mendes a few times recently and that fellow Premier League club, Everton, are also interested in the Brazilian to replace Idrissa Gueye if he leaves the club.
Note: Any Chelsea transfer activity will depend on the club managing to freeze their transfer ban for the upcoming window.