After months of transfer speculation, Radja Nainggolan joined Serie A rivals Inter Milan recently. The now-former Belgian international, who quit playing for his country after being snubbed from the World Cup squad, has signed a four-year deal at San Siro.
Nainggolan, who became a member of AS Roma in 2014, signed a four-year deal only last summer. His move to Nerazzurri means he will rejoin with former Roma boss Luciano Spalletti.
Chelsea were interested in him when Antonio Conte first took charge in 2016. The 29-year-old rejected the move back then but he is a high-quality midfielder who played a Champions League semi-final two months back with Roma.
Below we shall take an in-depth look as to why missing out on the tenacious Belgian will make Chelsea feel like a “missed trick”.
Nainggolan is probably one of the best Belgian central midfielders. He was an integral part of Spalletti’s team at Roma. The 29-year-old is a well-rounded box-to-box midfielder with a keen eye for the goal.
He can protect the back four, drive forward with the ball and also thread key passes for the team. At his best, he is capable of delivering results in all the facets of the game which makes him lethal, to say the least. In fact, he averaged 1.9 key passes per game in the Serie A last season.
With 4 goals and 9 assists in 31 appearances from the previous campaign, Nainggolan epitomizes his role as a player. Although he is known to surge forward quite a bit, he never shies away from performing his defensive duties. Furthermore, his passing ability is magnificent.
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If we take a look at the current Chelsea squad, they are in dire need of a player like him. Cesc Fabregas’ performances are waning with every passing season while N’Golo Kante needs a dynamic central midfield partner. To that end, Nainggolan could have filled that void perfectly.
Also, the Belgian would have been a perfect fit at Stamford Bridge due to his tenacity, creativity, defensive-awareness and eye for goals. But it looks like the Blues will have to look elsewhere now.
