Time to ditch the money, and focus on youth?

McEachran: Is he, and others ready for the next step?Malouda, Meireles, Essien, Benayoun, Lampard. This attacking quintet are all 29 or older now, and it is time to think about replacing them and build on the next promising, and hopefully title-challenging squad.

Both Mikel and Ramires are 25, and the latter has certainly took to the Premier League stage like a house on fire, as well as being a massive part of the Champions League win that we all witnessed this season.

Add to that new signing Marko Marin, 23, and the likes of Romeu, McEachran, and Lucas Piazon, who are all still under 21, and there is reason to be hopeful about the future at Stamford Bridge. But now is it time to stop flooding the squad with expensive stars and focus on the youth?

Lampard and Meireles still have a part to play for Chelsea I believe, although there is speculation that Meireles is wanted by Napoli for £8m, but the midfielder has expressed his desire to focus on the Euros, where his Portugal team are into the last four, and have a great chance of picking up a winner’s medal.

Abramovich has a lot of money. Everybody knows that. But is it worth being held at ransom for players like Luka Modric, when we could focus on the youth? I believe Romeu and McEachran have enough to compete at this level, and although may take a year or two to become top-class, I think they both need a lot of game time this year.

Before we throw all of our money on a midfielder, I think the first course of action is to sell Essien, Malouda, and Benayoun, and then possibly buy one more midfielder, but only if the price is right.

Who would you scrap, and who would you keep for next season? If you could sign one central midfielder, then who would it be? Are our young midfielders good enough to be the next stars?

 

By Brad Smith
Follow @BrummieBrad