Chelsea’s main concern is the unavailability of midfielder Moises Caicedo.
The Ecuadorian international faces an uncertain spell out with an undisclosed injury after lasting only 11 minutes as a substitute against Brighton last week.
His absence places Alonso in a highly unusual situation for a Chelsea manager. Excluding suspensions, Caicedo had sat out just two games across the previous three seasons because of a minor injury and illness.
Discussing Caicedo’s condition, Alonso said the problem was not expected to be long-term, but the club needed to evaluate the risks after potentially bringing him back too soon last week.
It is still uncertain whether concerns about Caicedo’s fitness influenced Chelsea’s attempts to recruit several central midfielders on transfer deadline day.
Monaco withdrew from Chelsea’s £47m deal for Lamine Camara at the final moment, causing considerable frustration among officials at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier in the summer, Chelsea also saw offers worth as much as £64m turned down for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott. Their attempt to recruit France international Manu Kone also failed after Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini refused to approve the transfer.
Chelsea explained that their interest in Camara arose from an opportunity in the market, while insisting they were pleased with their summer activity and remained confident in the players already available.
That position came despite Enzo Fernandez joining Manchester City for a joint British-record £125m fee on deadline day, with Chelsea failing to recruit a direct successor.
Caicedo’s injury nevertheless leaves him sidelined alongside Jordan Henderson, who continues to recover from the broken arm he sustained after tumbling over an advertising board while serving as an unused substitute at the World Cup.
Valentin Barco, a natural midfielder signed from Strasbourg during the summer, has not been selected ahead of Gusto in any of Chelsea’s first three Premier League fixtures.
With Gusto deployed in midfield, Chelsea had only 25.6% possession during last weekend’s 4-3 win against Brighton, their lowest recorded share since data collection began in the 2003-04 season.
Should Chelsea’s other midfielders remain available and Caicedo’s problem prove minor, five options ought to be sufficient in a campaign without midweek European fixtures, as Alonso suggested before the game.
During their opening three matches, Chelsea have depended heavily on leading attackers Morgan Rogers, the revitalised Cole Palmer and prolific forward Joao Pedro.
However, after allowing seven goals in three games, Alonso acknowledged that the team must become more disciplined defensively.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
