Enzo Maresca sets himself “target” to create experimental Chelsea partnership with No.10 duo
The Enzo Maresca era at Chelsea so far can only be described as a major success.
It’s very early days yet, but sitting third in the table and second only to Manchester City (22) for goals scored (21), there is optimism building among supporters that the Italian can return the Blues as a genuine Premier League force.
Cole Palmer has once again spearheaded Chelsea’s efforts, notching seven goals and five assists in 11 Premier League appearances so far.
Led by the England international’s creativity and dynamism, Chelsea are second in the Premier League for take-ons completed (107) and third for progressive carries (244), while running up emphatic wins such as 6-2 and 3-0 away at Wolves and West Ham and 4-2 at home to Brighton — as well as pushing Liverpool all the way in a narrow 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
It really couldn’t get much more exciting for Chelsea, could it? Well, perhaps it could, with Maresca now declaring that forming a deadly No.10 partnership between Palmer and Joao Felix could be a realistic aim.
“Yeah, this could be a target for the future; to see both of them playing together,” Maresca said in a recent press conference, adding: “International break is good, first of all for the ones that don’t go with their international teams so they can recover and for the ones that do go, some of them, like Joao, did fantastic. But Joao is doing well with us since day one.”
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Felix’s summer return to Stamford Bridge was something of a surprise, with many cynically claiming it was only brought about to facilitate the sale of Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid.
Indeed, the 25-year-old has played just 117 minutes in the Premier League so far, scoring once in five appearances. But elsewhere, he’s proving his quality and value, registering four goals in three Conference League appearances, as well as an assist across two EFL Cup outings.
The question to Maresca about Felix’s role within his squad comes off the back of the former Benfica man scoring in Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Croatia in the Uefa Nations League. The 45-time international put in a starring performance that also saw him create three chances, attempt four dribbles and win a match-high eight duels, while he was the most-fouled player in the match (3).
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Can Cole Palmer and Joao Felix play together?
So, how exactly does Maresca get both Felix and Palmer into the team as dual 10s?
The most obvious route is to take a deep-lying midfielder out in favour of a 4-1-4-1 system. The wings stay the same — most recently Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto — with Palmer and Felix operating behind Nicolas Jackson, who is having an excellent season.
Of course, for all their attacking flair, Chelsea do still have work to do when it comes to defensive balance and ‘balance’ is the key word here. Having two No.10s would put an immense amount of pressure on Moises Caicedo to hold down the fort in the No.6 position.
The Ecuador intentional has looked like a player rejuvenated under Maresca, ranking second in the Premier League for tackles (38), while he’s in the top 10 for interceptions (18), possessions won in the attacking third (9), possessions won in the middle third (29) and recoveries (59).
But Caicedo is one man and unless those behind him can up their game, he might well find himself swamped without the extra body next to him.
The alternative is to take Nicolas Jackson out of the side to facilitate a strikerless system that would look something like a 4-2-2-2.
This would offer more defensive security but the drawbacks are obvious. Firstly, Jackson doesn’t deserve to be dropped at all, already netting six goals in the Premier League this season, while offering a vital physical presence through the middle that helps unlock Palmer in the first place.
What’s more, Jackson plays a key role in Chelsea’s pressing, doing a lot of the legwork up-front that allows Palmer to play with more freedom. Without the Senegalese striker, Palmer would be expected to get through a lot more work and even helped by Felix, that might end up taking away from what makes the former Man City man so effective in the first place.
There’s no doubt finding a way to get Felix into Chelsea’s starting line-up is an exciting prospect, but it’s not a simple one for Maresca, who must take delicate care if he’s to achieve this particular ‘target’.
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