Victor osimhen done, Mudryk departure,Diomande agreement”, Dream Chelsea squad once the January transfer window is completed
Victor osimhen done, Mudryk departure,Diomande agreement”, Dream Chelsea squad once the January transfer window is completed
Things are all looking very rosy at Stamford Bridge right about now. Not even a draw at home to Nottingham Forest before the international break could disrupt the mood – too much, anyway…
Chelsea are sitting very nicely indeed in fourth-place in the Premier League table after the opening seven games of the season. Sixteen goals scored, eight conceded, four wins, two draws and one defeat. Not too bad, eh?
A new head coach in Enzo Maresca, who has seemingly took to life with the Blues like a duck to water. His philosophy, although very complex, has been implemented onto the players he inherited rather seamlessly it seems. And while Chelsea are by no means the finished article, for once, things are looking positive in SW6.
The performances in the squad have been so high that it has meant some players have not played anywhere near the amount of minutes they would have hoped at this stage into a new season. “I be honest,” Maresca explained when asked how he is keeping all of his players happy last month.
“I’m honest with all of them. I’ve said it many times since day one that we can’t play with seven or eight attacking players as there is no defensive balance.”
There are essentially four attacking positions within a Maresca setup and unfortunately the Italian cannot use his wealth of options all at once. The likes of Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk, Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu are all fighting for those spots.
The last of those listed, Guiu, has barely had a sniff this term despite impressing over the club’s pre-season tour of the United States over the summer. Signed for as little as £5million from Barcelona, the 18-year-old striker has made only five appearances in all competitions this season with just 168 minutes across those games.
Guiu started in both legs against Servette in the UEFA Conference League playoff round in August, but that is it in terms of starts. Yet to score for the Blues, albeit with barely any minutes on the pitch, it would perhaps be best to look for a loan move for the Spaniard when the January transfer window opens.
Chelsea could look to loan him to a Championship side to try and get him some invaluable experience playing English football and becoming more accustomed to the physicality required. The club will not be interested in a permanent move for Guiu – and the striker, too, wants to prove himself at Stamford Bridge in the future, but with the form of Nkunku and Jackson right now, it does not look like it will be this season that he can do that
Meanwhile, Ben Chilwell is clearly not part of Maresca’s plans at Stamford Bridge. The 27-year-old defender was told to find another club in the summer transfer window but a move away from Chelsea did not transpire and he has made just the one appearance – in the 5-0 win against Barrow last month – since.
While Chilwell has been named in the 25-man Premier League squad for the remainder of the season, he is yet to be included in the squad list for any match day yet. Both Marc Cucurella and Renato Veiga, who have both started the season very well at left-back, are ahead of Chilwell, who will look to move in the January window.
Likewise, Carney Chukwuemeka is yet to feature in a Premier League squad this term. Like Chilwell, the 20-year-old’s singular appearance this season came in that thrashing of Barrow in September. Maresca has spoken very openly about the midfielder and his future, suggesting it may well be away from Stamford Bridge.
Speaking following Chelsea’s 4-2 win against Brighton last month, where Chukwuemeka was once again not included in the squad, Maresca said: “I will say exactly the same thing I have said many times: Carney is a very good player, but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the beginning of the season it is probably better to leave and go somewhere, prove himself and play 30 or 35 games than being here and playing less games.
“Unfortunately that did not happen. He is our player. He had some minutes the other day, today he was not involved. Hopefully we can give him more minutes.”
In terms of incomings, Maresca will be fairly pleased with his squad right now, although plenty of things can change in football before the January transfer window opens. However, the Italian will be keen for the club to get some outgoings completed during the month
