Since the day it became clear that Liam Rosenior was going to become Chelsea manager, one narrative has been very prominent.
“This will be good for Andrey Santos” – because the midfielder wasn’t getting too many chances under Enzo Maresca; and because he had previously been a key man for Rosenior at Strasbourg.
Santos slots back into his old role under Rosenior
The Athletic's touch map for Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo.
The Athletic’s touch map for Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo.
Well, it took a little longer than expected, but it’s now come true. After initially persisting with the double pivot of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez that Maresca preferred, Rosenior has now started using Santos with Caicedo centrally.
After starting 8 of the first 29 games of this season under Maresca, Santos has now started 4 of 6 under Rosenior. The two recent games against Crystal Palace and Napoli have seen him really come into his own as a deep lying playmaker, playing behind Caicedo but with more of an emphasis on collecting the ball from defenders and moving it forward.
That’s evident from the touch map of the two midfielders you can see above from the game against Palace at the weekend.
The question now is what happens when Cole Palmer wants to start. If Enzo is to stay central, and Santos deeper, the attacker will have to play on the wing. This team is still evolving, and it will be interesting to see where it ends up.
In other news…
Fabrizio Romano claimed last night that a deal was close for Axel Disasi to join West Ham on loan, with just a couple of days left in the window to get the deal done.
Chelsea’s win over Napoli last night wasn’t perfect – as others have pointed out, Liam Rosenior’s gamble with his starting team didn’t work out. But what was important was how it ended, and that was very well indeed.
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