Photo by Leila Coker - WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images
Photo by Leila Coker - WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images
Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for BGC Group
Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for BGC Group
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
“He’s young, but he has great energy. He’s been training with us since the preseason, and we see that he’s taking a step forward. There were needs at that game because we were missing a few players.
“Once the door is open, they get the chance, and you see that they are special players. Mahdi, we need to help him because he’s so young. He’s just 16, but I think that we have a great player here for the future.”
“Definitely, he has confidence. He has energy, but he has confidence. Now we’ll have more players back, and hopefully we need to have regularity in the squad, in availability, and that will help our consistency.”
Where does Nicoll-Jazuli rank against Chelsea’s midfielders?
Xabi Alonso’s preferred midfield duo is Reece James and Moises Caicedo. But James has struggled in the middle of the park since the start of the season, while Caicedo has been injured for the whole campaign.
Valentin Barco is still up and coming despite Alonso’s praise, and Jordan Henderson was only ever set to provide cover. His addition was more to provide leadership behind the scenes and fill the gaps.
Romeo Lavia has been on fire for Belgium during the break, and come Saturday, Alonso would be making a mistake if Lavia didn’t start. Nicoll-Jazuli is behind him, but it won’t take much for him to come in.
Henderson, Lavia and James are no strangers to injury, while Chelsea remain well-positioned in the Carabao Cup – something which could give Nicoll-Jazuli game time. But at 16, he needs to be patient.