The momentous squad depth which everyone has been raving about at Chelsea was put to the test at the weekend when they took on local rivals Brentford.
As well as long-term absentees Reece James and Wesley Fofana, the likes of Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Benoit Badiashile were all absent for the 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
A number of academy players were on the bench, and some supporters were left wondering if reinforcements were needed to stock up their depth.
The opportunity is also there to recall some of the players they currently have out on loan, with a few finding it difficult to nail down regular game time.
Lesley Ugochukwu of Southampton and Tatsuki Seko of Stoke City during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Southampton and Stoke City at St M...
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Chelsea will recall Lesley Ugochukwu from loan in January
One of those is certainly Lesley Ugochukwu, who has found minutes very hard to come by at Southampton this season.
The Saints are at a crossroads right now after sacking manager Russell Martin, and the future of the young midfielder is certainly one of the topics up for debate.
David Ornstein believes that Chelsea are about to recall Ugochukwu in January.
He said to NBC Sports: “They have some capacity to do something in January, but I think they’ll want to trim the squad as a priority. They’ll lose players like Lesley Ugochukwu when he goes back to Chelsea when he gets recalled I’m sure.”
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Enzo Maresca unsure on if Ugochukwu will be at Chelsea in January
Enzo Maresca previously said that he didn’t know if Ugochukwu would return from his loan spell midway through the season.
The Frenchman played a big role in the Blues’ pre-season campaign, scoring a couple of key goals as they prepared for the new season.
It seems as if the midfielder did impress at his new club when he arrived. Martin described him as a ‘brilliant athlete’ when he joined.
Things have certainly not worked out though, and at this stage it looks as if a move to another side would be the best course of action for him.
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