Chelsea have a midfield problem. Namely, Chelsea lack depth and variety in the double pivot. This isn't to say that Chelsea lack quality in their central midfield, because that is certainly not the case. There is quality in abundance, but many of the pieces either fit poorly into a double pivot setup or offer extremely similar skills to the other Chelsea mids. You should all be quite familiar with the players that the club has for options at this point, so I won't go too deeply into that here.

Even before loaning Micheal Essien to Real Madrid and selling Raul Meireles to Fenerbahce, many fans were looking for an injection of variety to the central midfield. We didn't make any additions to that area over the summer, so we'll be playing with what we've currently got until at least January. It's never too early to look at what we should be thinking about when the window opens though, and I've already got a big guy in mind to fill a big hole in the midfield. That guy? Marouane Fellaini.

So why Fellaini you might ask? Well, I've got several reasons. First, he's versatile. In the FFP era, teams are going to have to be a bit more creative in how they fill out their roster. Having a player that can fill multiple roles will make it easier to avoid spending big on backups, something Chelsea's recent purchasing would suggest we already realize.

Fellaini is capably of playing comfortably in any midfield role, from that of a lone holder, to part of a double pivot, to slotting in directly behind the center forward. Chelsea could certainly use a player like that, as they really don't have one currently on the books. Fellaini is also quite capable of pushing even further up the pitch, and he's probably a better third option at center forward at this point in his career than Victor Moses would be. Killing two birds with one stone very large rock? Sign me up.

The big Belgian offers something different from what we currently have skills-wise as well. Fellaini is a dominant aerial presence that tends to be very aggressive in his defending. He's a fantastic tackler, and he's a great target for the long ball. He covers a ton of ground during games, he's a comfortable finisher, and he's got a knack for timing his runs well. Every single one of these skills is something that we've got in another player in the squad, but there's not a single one that comes close to combining them all into one package. Again, Fellaini looks like he'd be an excellent fit regardless of where he's deployed.

When buying, there's always the question of availability. Everton tend to be a selling club, so Fellaini would seem to be a player that could be had. He's also recently had a few comments about a future move, and those comments make him seem not only open to, but desiring of a move in the near future. Here are the comments in question:

I am just starting my fifth season at Everton, this will be one of my last. I have seen everything. In January or at the end of the season I will turn to another club or championship.

Sounds good, right? Everton are a quality side, and not too many clubs out there can provide Fellaini a major jump in class. At a reported £ 75,000 per week there just aren't many clubs that would be able to give Fellaini a raise either. Chelsea meet both criteria, being one of a select few that do. They also have a major need for a player capable of filling the roles that Fellaini is capable of filling. Again, this would appear to be a very, very good fit.

After the way our central midfield has looked to start the season, it seems clear that we'll need to add to what we currently have in January if we want to comfortably challenge for any silverware this season. We've got quality, but we just seem to lack pairings that truly compliment each other. Fellaini would offer Chelsea something very different than what we already have in place, and in my opinion it's something that we could really benefit from. You're all entitled to disagree though, and that's a perfect excuse to use the new look comments section and discuss how best to spend other people's money, isn't it? Have at it...

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