Chelsea Set To Bid For High Rated La Liga Star – Not Bale

With the summer transfer window looming, Chelsea have been linked with a number of high profile players including the likes of Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale, and the latest to be linked to the Blues is Spanish International, Koke.

Koke currently with Athletico Madrid have been very influential for his club in recent seasons, and with Chelsea keen to get back to European glory, the Blues have been linked with a £22 million bid of Koke.

Jose Mourinho has identified Koke as someone who could help the blues become a force in the Champions League next season. But what would interest people more is to see how the blues would line up with Koke, who is a central midfielder, and playes in the same role as Cesc Fabregas, and it’s unlikely the latter would be dropped from the first team.

But with Chelsea now more prudent in the transfer window, should Koke join the blues, it could spell the end for another midfielder and with Oscar the most inconsistent of the Chelsea midfielders, it is likely that he might have to make way for Koke to come in, despite not being a like for like replacement.

For the past 3 seasons since he joined Chelsea from Internationel in Brazil, Oscar has always been brilliant at the start of every season, his starts were so good that when Mourinho came he made it clear that Oscar was going to be his Number 10, which also meant the exit of Juan Mata, who was then sold to Manchester United due to lack of playing time at Chelsea.

Koke’s style is in the vein of the versatile attacking midfielder that is so coveted these days. He can easily slot in anywhere across the midfield and has done so to great effect this season. Diego Simeone prefers to put him on the left side of the midfield as an inverted winger. This allows him to either get down the wing and cross or cut inside and overload the middle of opponent’s defenses. Koke’s main strength is his passing. He has that innate ability to unlock opponents’ defenses with a single pass.

He also has the ability to hold on to the ball. He rarely loses possession and can take on opponents when he cannot find the right pass. Nearly half of his take-ons are successful. His ability to hold on to the ball through the midfield gives the rest of the team the time to find space. And Koke has shown that he will find that space if someone makes it for themselves.

Koke has set himself apart as one of the best creative midfielders in the top European leagues and, with improved performances in Europe, he’ll be able to climb the rankings and for me, the sky is the limit. Not bad for a kid who grew up with Atletico as home.