Luton boss Jack Wilshere joked that he would be more than happy to see Chelsea make changes for their Carabao Cup second round clash against the Hatters tonight, particularly in their world class front three department.
The Blues, under new management in former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who was appointed in May, but officially began work on July 1, appears to have one of the most potent attacking trios in not just the Premier League, but Europe as well at his disposal, with Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer.
They showed just how dangerous they can be in their opening 3-2 top flight triumph at Fulham on Monday evening, Rogers, who was at the World Cup with England, scoring his first goal for the club having arrived from Aston Villa for a monster fee of £117m in the summer. Meanwhile, Pedro, who managed 23 goals last term after a £60m move from Brighton & Hove Albion was also off the mark, as was one of the Three Lions most talented individuals, Palmer, who starred throughout at Craven Cottage.
Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers celebrate Chelsea's third goal against Fulham on Monday - pic: Ryan Pierse/Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers celebrate Chelsea's third goal against Fulham on Monday - pic: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
On witnessing the trio in action, and whether he wants his players to have the experience of going up against such a frightening front-line, Wilshere said: “They weren’t bad were they? Players that I love watching, I think Joao Pedro is a top player, a top number nine who I think this will be a big season for me, same as Cole Palmer, who in my opinion should have gone to the World Cup, didn’t, but it looks like he’s got something to prove and he definitely played like that.
"Of course Morgan Rogers is someone they’ve spent a lot of money on for a good reason, he’s going to be good this season. Hopefully they don’t all play against us, but that being said, even if they don’t they’ve still got top players who can come in, so I enjoyed watching them, they worried me a little bit, but I also enjoyed it. I could easily say no I would like them to play against them, of course I wouldn’t, of course I want them to make changes.
"They still have good players, but those three in my opinion for their own reason, Joao Pedro will be up there for top goalscorer, Cole Palmer will be close to being the best player this reason and probably Morgan Rogers the same. So if they do, great, let's have a little bit of confidence going into it, but hopefully they change it.”
Should Alonso decide to alter things with a home game against Brighton & Hove Albion on the horizon, then it could well be summer signing Danny Welbeck gets the nod upfront to make his debut having moved to Stamford Bridge from the Seagulls last month. The 35-year-old, who has over 100 career goals, also netting 16 times during his 42 England caps, is a close friend of Wilshere, with the pair having been at Arsenal and on international duty earlier in their careers.
On whether he was looking forward to meeting up with him once more, Wilshere added: “Not really, because he seems to have got better with age over the last couple of seasons, but I love Danny. Danny’s a good friend of mine, he came to Arsenal from Man United, I knew him before that, we played in the England youth teams together, 19s, 21s and then went into the first team together, so a good friend of mine.
"I’m really happy for him that he got that move as I think a lot of people over the years doubted Danny a bit, but Danny for me was always a top player. Now and then when I put the TV on and they’re playing an old classic game, Danny Welbeck is playing in a Man United team that had Ronaldo, that had (Dimitar) Berbatov, that had (Carlos) Tevez, that had (Wayne) Rooney and he’s playing so that shows you how good he is. He had a tough time in his career and had to suffer at times, but a top player and probably more importantly a top person.”