Chelsea’s dream spine come February

Steven N’Zonzi

Conte has been chopping and changing Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas at times over the last few weeks and, with the latter’s future still uncertain, the Chelsea boss may consider reinforcements in the central midfield department.

And one man he has reportedly been keeping tabs on is Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi, formerly of Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers.

The 28-year-old made the move to Spain in 2015 after over 100 Premier League appearances for Stoke, and immediately set about nailing down a first team place for the La Liga side, playing 47 times for the club in his first season last time out.

N’Zonzi was part of the side that beat Liverpool in the Europa League final last May, and his recurrent impressive displays in the midfield have attracted interest from many around Europe.

One of which is Chelsea and, based on how highly-rated the 28-year-old was when at Stoke, and how much he appears to have improved at Sevilla, he could be the perfect signing to bolster the Blues’ midfield.