Unfortunately for Mauricio Pochettino and Todd Boehly, Chelsea’s dominance in the transfer market hasn’t been mirrored on the field, with the Blues currently sitting in 12th place in the Premier League after 16 matches.

Chelsea’s latest game was a narrow 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. The Blues had 72% possession, but they lacked movement and imagination to break down Sean Dyche's side.

Connor Gallagher is being opted for in the slightly advanced midfield role, but he doesn’t offer much creativity. Cole Palmer’s inclusion in the starting XI has boosted Chelsea’s output in recent weeks but the need for another magician in attack is clear to see.

Chelsea transfers latest – Thiago Almada

According to reports in Spain, Chelsea are one of four Premier League clubs that are interested in acquiring the Atalanta United star.

The attacking midfielder looks destined to move to Europe in the near future and the Blues view him as a long-term investment.

As per other reports, Almada is valued at £24m, and he is the finest prospect in the MLS.

The stats that show Thiago Almada would be a good signing for Chelsea

Before looking at the Argentinian creative mastermind in more detail, his MLS goal involvement statistics speak for themselves. In just 66 appearances for the Five Stripes, he has scored 20 goals and registered 23 assists.

He’s simply a “monster of a player” and as you can see, Almada is just as much of a goal-scoring machine as he is an artist, which gives him the pedigree of an elite attacker.

The Chelsea faithful have previously witnessed a young attacking midfielder come to life in their first season playing at Stamford Bridge, Juan Mata. A like-minded creative wizard, the Spaniard became the London club’s player of the season, netting 12 goals and registering 21 assists in his debut campaign. Boehly, therefore, will be hoping that Almada can have a similar impact to what Mata had in 2012.

The right-footed, dynamic youngster mainly features as an attacking midfielder who likes to drift over to the left-hand side, where he can pick up the ball in the inside channel. At just 22 years of age, he shows maturity and expresses himself on the field like a seasoned professional.

However, the defensive side of the game is rarely addressed by Almada, with his role simply being to create. This resembles the ex-Manchester United midfielder, who thrived with the ball at his feet, yet was slightly passive out of possession. Both players are and were the heartbeat of each side they've played for.

As already shown, his output is immense, but his dribbling, passing and technical ability is second to none. The table below shows a handful of statistics that he ranks in the top 2% in compared to positional peers in similar divisions across the last year.

Assists

0.53

Progressive passes

9.60

Shot-creating actions

6.83

Passes received

61.23

Touches

75.6

Although these statistics are clearly at a world-class level, it is important to take the competition, MLS, into context and the Premier League will provide a much sterner test for the Argentine.

Almada would be an excellent signing for any top club in Europe, but with the amount of talent Chelsea has in attack, and the fact that Christopher Nkunku is getting closer to returning, his game time may be limited at the Blues.