Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
With the window now closed, Xabi Alonso has time to breathe. The Chelsea boss can focus on working with his players on the training ground, having played a part in the mass exodus that raked in £500m.
All focus can be placed on their clash against Arsenal on Sunday, with Alonso now knowing what his squad looks like until January at least. But the problems won’t stop there for the new Chelsea manager.
The Chelsea squad is still a big one. In some areas, there are three players for one position. Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 system looks likely to be the formation he sticks with for most games, and for some, that’s bad news.
The system gets rid of the need for a natural winger, and Chelsea have plenty of those. Geovany Quenda, Pedro Neto, Estevao, Morgan Rogers, and Jamie Gittens are all earmarked as the players providing width.
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Estevao’s concerns about game time must be dealt with
According to reports, Estevao is concerned about his game time under Alonso. The Brazilian wonderkid does not believe he can play wing-back, and does not want to gain the physicality required to play there.
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He believes it will take away from his natural mobility, which makes him shine as a winger. Alonso has used Neto, Gittens and Quenda as wing-backs in pre-season, while Rogers is obviously playing as a 10.
Chelsea consider Estevao an untouchable. He was recently ranked the second-best teenager in world football. Alonso has to find a way to appease the £29m signing before he decides he needs to leave.
Sort Estevao out, or Alonso will find his concerns are infectious
Estevao is right to have concerns. He is not going to play as much as he would with a manager using a back four and wingers. The front three of Cole Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro are almost impassable.
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Estevao remains one of Chelsea’s untouchables, and they will be desperate to keep him. But actions speak louder than words, and the only way Alonso is going to tame Estevao is by offering the teen game time.
If he doesn’t get that, his concerns become frustration. That frustration spills over into the dressing room and affects others, disrupting harmony or causing those in a similar situation to feel the same way.
Alonso has to get a hold of the situation early. Keep Estevao in check and risk a worse reaction, or start him in games – Estevao can play centrally. Realistically, the next time he starts is in the Cup against Leeds.