Chelsea hatch plan to repeat Trevoh Chalobah trick if disaster strikes - but Enzo Maresca may not agree
Chelsea have a plan in case they suffer another big injury setback between now and January.
Chelsea are already said to have a plan in case they are left short-handed at the back between now and January, and it may not be one many expect. the Blues were left short in defence last season when Wesley Fofana picked up a serious injury, leading to Trevoh Chalobah being recalled from a loan spell with Crystal Palace.
Coming into the season, Chelsea saw another defender pick up a serious injury in Levi Colwiill, who is now set to miss much of the season. The Blues do have other options, especially with Fofana coming back. Chalobah remains one of the better options, and Enzo Maresca thinks a lot of Tosin Adarabioyo.
Jorrel Hato was also brough in during the summer window, so Chelsea are in a pretty good situation when it comes to defensive depth, even though they might not - at least on paper - have the same level of quality as the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.
On the back of Colwill’s injury, Maresca suggested he wanted a replacement, but it was ultimately decided that such a signing was not on the table. He said: “The club know exactly what I think. I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think. Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle].
"Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin. But we have Premier League, Champions League, with these kind of players. The rest, they can adapt. [Jorrel] Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season [with Ajax], so it's not about being a central defender.
"Yes, [he is a] central defender but can he do that? It's different. Also we have players that unfortunately, like Wes [Fofana] or Benoit [Badiashile], they have in this moment some [injury] problems. The one in the middle in my way is so, so, so important. And this is the reason why I said that the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders."
Chelsea’s plan
A fresh report from The Athletic has claimed that Chelsea did not want to sign a new centre-back because they felt it would hamper the progress of young defenders Mamadou Sarr and Aaron Anselmino, who joined Strasbourg and Borussia Dortmund on respective loans during the summer.
The report claims Chelsea will do what they did last season with Chalobah should they lose another centre-back through injury. It’s reported they will recall one of those young defenders to add depth should that scenario play out. That’s not likely to please Maresca, who clearly feels there is a need for further quality in that area, but the Blues have been very youth-centric over recent times, and they have also had to be careful with their spending after a big fine and the threat of another from UEFA.
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