4 Best Chelsea’s Central-Midfielders Ever: All-Time Greats

Chelsea, throughout their history, have always had a dominating and imposing midfield. The base of Chelsea’s game has always come from their midfield with managers often switching it between a double pivot and a three-man midfield. From the likes of Terry Venables in the 1960s to Frank Lampard more recently, the midfield has consisted of leaders. Now, we’ll see who makes this list of the best-ever central midfielders.

4 All-Time Chelsea Central Midfielders

4. Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise was bought from Wimbledon in 1990 for a club-record fee of 1.6 million. He was worth every penny as 438 appearances later, he was the most successful captain in Chelsea’s history, a feat since overtaken by John Terry.

Wise had hit the ground running from the very start scoring an impressive 13 goals in his first season. His stature within the club was gradually growing, following which he was given the armband by manager Glen Hoddle in 1993. The 1994-95 season proved to be a torrid spell for him personally after he was given a red card early in the season for abusing, he was also charged with 3 months of prison for assaulting a London taxi driver. The prison sentence was overturned but he was stripped of the captaincy for a while. This was followed by a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a thigh injury.

His first major honour as captain came in 1997 when his Chelsea side beat Middlesborough 2-0 in the FA Cup final. The success would continue as his side again beat Middlesborough 2-0 in next season’s League Cup final. He also had a pivotal part in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final success as he set up Gianfranco Zola for the winner with a dinked pass moments after coming on.

He also led Chelsea in the Super Cup final success against Real Madrid in the following season.

Claudio Ranieri sold Wise in 2001 to lower the average age of the squad. Wise has the seventh most appearances for the Blues in their history in which he scored a total of 76 goals.

3. Claude Makelele

Makelele spent 5 seasons at Chelsea after joining the Blues in 2003 from Real Madrid for 18.8 million. Ranieri described Makelele as “the battery” of the team, and so he was. Makelele revolutionized the role of a defensive midfielder in the Premier League, so much so that the position was renamed to his name. Makelele was a screen in front of the Chelsea backline where he served as a defensive foil for his more attacking teammates. Having him behind gave Lampard the license to get in the opposition’s box more often.

Makelele was so brilliant at breaking up the play and in his tackles, that his passing game was often overlooked. Makelele had a short and efficient passing game, by which he could properly function as a deep-lying playmaker. He also had brilliant strength for his short stature which allowed him to stand up to more physical opponents. Combined with a low centre of gravity, the Frenchman was also an efficient dribbler.

Although he was not the fastest or the best in the air, his positional sense and work-rate often gave the edge to Chelsea in big matches.

Makelele won 2 Premier League titles at the club playing almost ever match and was an important cog in the Chelsea machine during their run to the 2008 Champions League final.

2. Michael Essien

In 2005, Essien moved to Chelsea from Lyon in a deal worth 24.4 million, which made the Ghanian the most expensive buy in Chelsea’s history. Even though he often filled the right-back spot, his preferred position was in the centre of midfield. He was a strong midfielder who never shied away from a tackle. Essien had endless stamina, which allowed him to support in both attack and defence. Due to his high work rate and a more physical approach to the game, his quality on the ball and his vision were often underrated.

Essien was also a brilliant striker of the ball from distance and has scored several memorable goals for the Blues, including wonder strikes against Arsenal and Barcelona.

He won two Premier League titles and 4 FA Cups for the Blues, where he was a mainstay in the starting XI. After the Champions League win in 2012 he never really played for the Blues spending the 12-13 and the 13-14 season mostly out on loan.

He was an unused substitute in the 2012 final in Munich where Chelsea became the first London based side to lift the cup.

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1. Frank Lampard

This comes as a surprise to nobody. Frank Lampard is without an inch of a doubt, the best-ever midfielder to play for Chelsea FC. Lampard signed for an 11 million fee from West Ham, was a technically gifted box to box midfielder. He made his name being a prolific goalscorer from midfield scoring 211 goals, the best record for a player in the Blues’s history. 175 of those goals came in the Premier League which also makes him the highest-scoring midfielder in the League’s history.

Lampard also holds the record for scoring against the most number of Premier League oppositions with him netting against 39 different teams.

Lampard played as the attacking one out of three midfielders, often arriving late in the box to latch on to cut-backs. His numbers gradually improved season after season, added with his durability and strong will, he was every manager’s dream.

In 2005, he scored both goals against Bolton which confirmed Chelsea as the Premier League Champions. This was Lampard’s first major honour at Chelsea as was Chelsea’s first league title in exactly 50 years.

Along with several individual awards, he won the Premier League 3 times in 13 years, 4 FA Cups, one Champions League and one Europa League. He left in 2014 to go to the MLS where he was loaned off to New York City’s partner club, Manchester City. He scored a very emotional late equalizer when both clubs faced off early in the season.

ALSO READ – 5 Best Chelsea Strikers Of All Time

Honourable mentions who were considered for the list of Greatest Chelsea Midfielders of All-Time:

• John Hollins
• N’Golo Kante
• Cesc Fabregas