Which of these two midfield superstars should Chelsea sign under Antonio Conte?

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It has been made no secret after the last few months that Chelsea are looking for another central midfielder to perform alongside; and perhaps displace, one of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas.

The summer spending at Stamford Bridge has been put on hold with new manager Antonio Conte still managing Italy at the European Championships, but it has not stopped the rumours flying around West London. Rather predictably, it has not prevented Roman Abramovich from lodging some bids for world class talents.

The two main targets in Chelsea’s midfield reshuffle are Roma’s Radja Nainggolan and Valencia’s Andre Gomes. Both players are currently still in the European Championships, but we take a look at both their pros and cons and how the two compare.

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Radja Nainggolan

The versatile midfielder has come off the back of an excellent season for Roma, but has done less than impress in Belgium’s opening two games of the Euros. Rather disappointingly, Nainggolan failed to make an impact as the whole Belgium side was swept aside by the brute of the Italian’s and came off the bench to look slightly better against the Republic of Ireland, dictating the tempo of the last twenty minutes of the game.

The Belgian has been on the radar of a number of top clubs for years now following a strong few years at Cagliari. His subsequent move to Roma only kept the spotlight on the midfielder and highlighted his attributes in every midfield area.

He has strengths in all aspects of his game, with his tackling and defensive solidity being what most people associate him with. In addition, he is also very comfortable in possession, becoming almost a deep-lying playmaker alongside the departed Miralem Pjanic for the last two seasons.

He can drift in and out of games at times and at 28 years of age now, the reported £35 million would be hefty fee for someone with an ever decreasing sell-on value.

Chelsea appear to be the only team in the running for the hard-hitting midfielder, so it could be all down to whether or not Conte thinks he’s the main to take Chelsea back to where they belong.

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Andre Gomes

Gomes has burst onto the scene since joining Valencia, initially on loan, featuring in virtually all of their games over the last two seasons. The Portuguese midfielder, unlike Nainggolan, has taken his good club form into the Euro’s where he’s played very well in both of Portugal’s two opening games, despite not managing to pick up a win.

At 22, Gomes is the man that the vast majority of Chelsea fans want purely because of the talents he already portrays at such a young age.

Gomes does offer something different to the current crop of Chelsea midfielders. If you are going to compare him to any of the current squad, the best example would be Loftus-Cheek in that he is very comfortable picking the ball up anywhere on the field and driving with ball at feet past defenders. Gomes would be terrifically complementary member of the midfield to Matic, the ball-winning midfielder and Cesc Fabregas, the main playmaker in the middle.

Again, if the rumours are to be believed, Chelsea had a £32 million bid rejected from the Spanish club so it’s going to take a hefty fee to pry him away.

As ever with a young European talent, a number of other clubs are interested in taking him to their city, and Manchester United are another side heavily linked with Gomes. The Portuguese link with former-Chelsea boss José Mourinho could prove too much to convince him to choose London over Manchester, but I don’t think that will stop Chelsea trying just yet. Expect another bid to be launched as the Euro’s draw to a close.

From the ways that the two players compare in their on-field approach, you would assume that Gomes had the most influence going forward and joining in with attacks.

Surprisingly, it is actually the Belgian who looks so much stronger going forward, statistically at least. With nearly double the key passes and chances created as well as double the goals scored, it appears that Nainggolan provides a concerted threat to the opposition’s defence.

He does, arguably, play in a weaker league currently and did play 600 more minutes than Gomes, but the facts are hard to disagree with.

In Defence

Defensively, Nainggolan also edges out the youngster.

Aerially, it is no surprise that Gomes has the better of Nainggolan, as the taller man. Gomes isn’t really known for his defensive work, so almost inevitably, his tackles won and interceptions are ridiculously low. Nevertheless, it comes as that much more of a surprise that Nainggolan’s defensive numbers match up with some of the best in Europe and somehow still has the attacking talent. He is the perfect all-round midfielder.

Well, despite the stats from last season being fairly one-sided, it doesn’t make Chelsea’s decision any easier.

Where Nainggolan probably has the edge as we speak, Gomes has six years on him, and if I were a gambling man, I’d say in six years’ time, Gomes will be known as a better midfielder than the tiny Belgian.

If Conte can get his hands on either of these players they will bring much needed depth in the middle of the park and really show that despite Chelsea’s poor season, they still mean business.

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