Ruslan Malinovskyi of Atalanta BC looks on during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and Atalanta BC at Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore on September 28, 2019 in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy. (Getty Images)
Back in October 2019, the Express had claimed that Chelsea were taking a close look at Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi. He was scouted by former Chelsea man Claude Makelele and the Frenchman was happy with what he saw then. (h/t Express)
Ruslan Malinovskyi, 26, joined Atalanta from Genk last summer and has instantly hit the ground running in Serie A, bagging four goals and an assist in 22 appearances. He has also played eight games in the Champions League, scoring and assisting a goal apiece.
With the Ukrainian international having performed well in his debut campaign with Atalanta, Chelsea must rekindle their interest in him during the summer transfer window.
Chelsea have had a decent campaign so far in what is Frank Lampard’s first season at Stamford Bridge. The Blues currently lie 4th in the table, three points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United. They were unable to sign players last summer, which forced Frank Lampard to utilize the club’s youth players. The transfer ban was uplifted in January, yet Lampard failed to make any signings.
Lampard has successfully blooded academy products such as Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori into the first-team. And in a bid to support him next season, the Chelsea board has already completed the signing of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, with the Moroccan set to officially join the club in June.
After signing the highly-rated Ziyech, the Blues boss should shift his focus towards strengthening the midfield department. Jorginho has been a consistent performer in midfield under Lampard, but the Italian has received very little support from the likes of N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic. Kante has endured an injury-hit campaign, while Barkley has blown hot and cold for the majority of the season.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is yet to play this season, having been out since May with a ruptured Achilles. This makes the signing of a central midfielder very important for the West Londoners. To put things straight, Ruslan Malinovskyi would be a smart fit at Stamford Bridge.
Malinovskyi is a quality central midfield player who prefers to operate in a box-to-box role but is capable of playing as a number 10 behind the striker if required. He has been predominantly used as an attacking midfielder by Gian Piero Gasperini and the 26-year-old has repaid the manager’s faith with 5 goals and 3 assists across all competitions.
At 26, with international pedigree and Champions League football under his belt, the Ukrainian would bring experience to a young Chelsea side that has struggled to hit top form since the turn of the year.
He scored 30 goals in 135 appearances for Genk – a healthy return from an attacking midfielder’s point of view. Having scored five times for Atalanta as well, Malinovskyi would be a good option to add goals from midfield for Chelsea. He would bring competition as well as depth to the Blues squad next season.
Thus, Chelsea would be wise to sign Malinovskyi from Atalanta this summer.
