Chelsea a likely summer destination for Inter Milan midfield maestro Nicolo Barella
According to Italian outlet FC Inter News, Premier League giants Chelsea are leading the race to sign Italian international Nicolo Barella.
The Inter Milan star came through the ranks at Cagliari before moving to the Giuseppe Meazza on loan in 2019. The arrangement was made permanent a year later and the midfielder has since developed into a first-XI star for the Nerazzurri.
A central midfielder adept at both defensive and offensive actions, Barella played a key role in Inter’s Scudetto win in 2021 and Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph that summer. At 25, he is in the prime of his career and continues to go from strength to strength.
Chelsea require a midfield revamp, especially so given the situation surrounding N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. Not only are both players getting older but are also in the final months of their contracts. With the Blues likely to lose the duo on Bosmans in the summer of 2023, something needs to be done.
Barella will slot in next to Mateo Kovacic and has all the necessary traits needed to thrive as the Blues’ engine room in midfield. His ability to make runs into space while also linking play will aid the Blues’ tempo, helping Graham Potter incorporate his free-flowing style at Stamford Bridge.
More so, Barella is also an adept dead-ball specialist, providing another potential threat up front for Chelsea. Add to it his physicality and selfless nature, and it is clear to see why he is amongst Serie A’s best midfielders today.
Inter, for their part, appear to be preparing for a potential departure and have earmarked Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister as a replacement. Given the hole that Barella’s potential departure will leave in the Inter midfield, it is only obvious that the Italian giants will want to be prepared.
Todd Boehly is showing no lack of ambition in the transfer market and has already reached an agreement for Christopher Nkunku to arrive at the Bridge next summer. Time will tell whether Barella will be the second big signing for the Blues in 2023.
