By OkayGoal
Chelsea’s midfield has become the focus of attention at the moment, after Enzo Fernandez left without a replacement.
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Chelsea’s midfield situation dominated today’s press conference at Cobham.
Enzo Fernandez left on deadline day without being replaced, and there are concerns that the Blues are now short in those areas. Xabi Alonso tried to calm those concerns, mentioning how much trust he had in the current options.
“[They have] different qualities, personalities. Valentin [Barco] is young but he has a great energy. [Jordan Henderson ]has the composure and the mentality. Hendo knows what is going on in the game, he’s getting closer and closer to playing time. Reece [James] as well, Malo [Gusto].”
Chelsea midfielders mentioned by their new manager
But the big moment for a lot of fans was not getting comforted that Alonso feels his current senior options are sufficient, but hearing him name drop both Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli:
“Watson and Mahdi from the academy [can play]. We have options, quality and competitiveness.”
The two academy 16 year olds impressed in preseason, and we’ve been hoping we’d hear them mentioned. They are not going to be starting a lot – if at all – but it’s nice to hear that Alonso has them in his thinking for if there’s an injury crisis.
In other news…
Alonso was asked about Caicedo’s injury status and refused to give too much of a concrete answer – we have our suspicions, which we’ve discussed here.
Alonso had some special tricks in training this week – he got his players to use rugby tackle bags to prepare for Arsenal’s set pieces.