How Will Jose Mourinho's New-Look Chelsea Midfield Shape Up This Season?

Boasting the talents of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Andre Schurrle and Oscar in attack, Chelsea's midfield options look to be among the strongest in Europe this season.

Indeed, the Blues have some of the continent's most exciting talents within their ranks. Throw into the equation Kevin De Bruyne and Victor Moses, not to mention a host of rising stars Chelsea currently have out on loan, and it's clear the embarrassment of riches Jose Mourinho has at his disposal.

But not is all as it seems. While Chelsea fans will be rightly excited at what this new-look team can offer in the opposition's half, they should be equally alarmed by their frail appearance elsewhere.

With a ball yet to be kicked in anger for 2013-14, it may be a somewhat premature observation, but Chelsea's midfield looks lopsided, with no stand-out candidates to fill the all-important defensive midfield position.

John Mikel Obi has never quite made the deep-lying position his own during his seven years in West London, while career-threatening injuries have raised doubts over the capability of Michael Essien.

Similar to Ramires, Frank Lampard continues to show his best position is playing on the front foot, scoring the type of goal we saw him fire home against Roma at the weekend. A promising preseason has done much for the confidence of new signing Marco van Ginkel, but how will he fair over the course of a Premier League season?

Then there's the David Luiz conundrum: Will Mourinho continue the experiment started by Rafa Benitez in playing him outside of his normal central-defensive position, or will he maintain the Brazilian's position as an out-and-out defender?

These are all questions that will be answered in the coming weeks and months, but right now it begs the question of why the Blues haven't reinforced an area that proved a particular cause for concern last season.

This summer Chelsea have been linked with moves for Daniele De Rossi (via The Express) and Real Madrid duo: Xabi Alonso (via Daily Star) and Sami Khedira (via The Mirror), but no bids have been forthcoming.

Even now—five years after his departure—Claude Makelele remains the touchstone for what a defensive midfielder should offer.

Makelele's simple approach proved one of Chelsea's most effective tools in Mourinho's first reign as Blues manager. The Frenchman gave the Portuguese a platform from which to build, so it's a surprise he hasn't referred back to that blueprint after the success it helped bring.

Football tactics and trends change of course, as do coaches. Mourinho's tendency to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation in preseason outlines how the Blues manager has adapted his style since we last saw him on English shores, when Chelsea often turned out 4-3-3.

The need to a player of Makelele's ilk remains, however. There aren't too many teams that can simply play with the intention of outscoring the opposition and Mourinho's Chelsea certainly aren't one of them.

There needs to be a balance and given what he has at his disposal, only Mourinho knows where that is going to come from this term.

Will he pair the experience of Lampard with van Ginkel's youth? Play it safe with Mikel or Essien? Or throw caution to the wind and unleash David Luiz from his defensive shackles?

We'll find out soon enough and Chelsea fan or not, it's going to be an exciting journey.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here: @garryhayes