Chelsea have only managed to win one game in the pre-season games under new manager Enzo Maresca. The West London club is currently aiming to bolster the front line with suitable additions. They have currently shifted their focus to re-sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid after Samu Omorodion turned down Chelsea’s offer on Sunday.
The West London club is working on the £25.6m (Transfermarkt) target, and his agent Jorge Mendez has arrived in London for further talks. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Portuguese forward has agreed to the move to the West London club. Felix joined the West London club in January 2023 on a six-month-long loan deal.
Chelsea was keen on retaining the player last summer, but Chelsea then-manager Mauricio Pochettino was not interested in the youngster. The West London club has currently expressed interest in re-signing Felix in the summer. Chelsea manager Maresca is currently bolstering his squad ahead of the new season, and the club has completed ten signings in the summer. They will kickstart the new campaign on Sunday against defending champions Manchester City. Let’s see how Maresca will line up his squad by including potential target Felix in his XI.
Maresca would start with new addition Filip Jorgensen in the goal, as Robert Sanchez failed to make an impact in the club last season with his performance. Jorgensen was also featured in the pre-season matches for Chelsea and the young custodian would be the first-choice goalkeeper for the Italian gaffer for the new season.
Maresca might continue his five-man defence tactics for West London by using full-backs as inverted midfielders. Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo would be the mainstays in the back line and these players also had a decent performance in the pre-season games for Chelsea. Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile can also do a job when called upon.
Marc Cucurella and captain Reece James will be the primary full-back options for the Blues in the new season. Maresca also tried James as a midfielder in the pre-season games, where the Spanish full-back has already proved his ability as an inverted midfielder for the national side in Euro 2024. The tactician would also use Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia as inverted midfielders.
Coming to the midfield, Maresca has signed one of his favourite midfielders, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, from Leicester in the summer. The English midfielder thrived under Maresca in the Championship last year and played a vital role in winning the title for Leicester. Maresca would use Dewsbuy-Hall as the central midfielder, along with the inverted full-backs.
Cole Palmer would be the main man in the attacking line for Chelsea and the fans would expect him to repeat his magical feat in the upcoming season. The English forward might be relocated to the right flank, which is his primary position, and the Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk will be in charge of the left flank.
Christopher Nkunku has impressed Maresca with his dazzling performance in the pre-season games, and the manager might use him as a main striker for the Blues in the new campaign, and the Portuguese forward Felix would be assigned to the false nine position to score more goals. Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson can also be used as backup options in the striker positions. The 24-year-old Portugal international can also do a good job as a left winger, so he can also be used as a backup option for Mudryk on the left flank.
Although this lineup looks decisively short in midfield on paper, Maresca could make both Cucurella and James invert to support Dewsbury-Hall. Alternatively, he could also choose to use Colo Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk in the half spaces as attacking midfielders. With Joao Felix also dropping in as a false-nine, the structure on the pitch might look markedly different and hopefully work for the Blues.
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