5 Things to Look for in Chelsea's Preseason Tour

What answers will Chelsea find on their tour of the U.S?

Chelsea are headed to America for the third consecutive summer, and are bringing some new pieces on this trip including new head coach Enzo Maresca and a couple of new signings. The trips to America have been rather lackluster the past few seasons, as one could argue injuries and long travel have hurt the squad more than it helped them.

Being from the U.S., I enjoy these trips as I can look at the squad up close without jumping on a transcontinental flight. With that being said, I was at that match in Chicago against Dortmund last year where Christopher Nkunku got injured so I can understand the frustration of playing on substandard pitches and the concern it can cause to everyone involved. 

With that worry in mind, I am excited to see the team out there in less than a week and will be interested to see how Enzo Maresca has put his own fingerprint on this team. Here are a couple of things I will be watching for.

1. Which fullbacks are inverting?

As we all know, Leicester City operated mainly by inverting the right fullback during the build-up. However, I don't think it will be as cut and dry as that at Chelsea; it's all about what players have the right profile to perform that task. Reece James and Malo Gusto have the technical ability to play that role, but if it is James, who has played DM in his career, you might want to save his legs across a long season and have him slot in at the RCB role where there is a little less running. For Gusto, I believe he is technically sound enough to go into the midfield if need be, but he offers so much going forward in the overlapping positions that I would be hesitant to take that out of his game. That said, Maresca's wingers are genuinely on the touchline, so there isn't much opportunity for overlap. 

On the left-hand side, Marc Cucurella will more than likely not be making the trip due to his extended run at the Euros, but I do think that both he and new signing Renato Veiga are able to go into the midfield because neither is best in overlapping situations. So it wouldn't surprise me if that inverting of the fullbacks is rather fluid and could change from match to match or even during the game in preseason to test out what might work best once the games actually matter.

2. Midfield Placement

It doesn't appear that Enzo Fernandez (who knows when he will be back) or Moises Caicedo will be there for the entire preseason, as they both had long runs in the Copa America. With that being said, there will be a lot to look for from the other midfielders making the trip. Romeo Lavia is one that I am super excited to see this preseason. It will be as if he is a new signing for this season, and he is a fantastic player who should be at the base of the midfield with the inverting fullback. His passing range is one of his strong suits, and he is more than capable of completing his defensive tasks as the base of the box midfield. 

Another player to keep an eye on will be Andrey Santos. The 20-year-old Brazilian had a mixed bag in terms of his loan spells last season, not really getting too much playing time at Nottingham Forest and then having an outstanding spell at Strasbourg, winning their Player of the Month and Ligue 1's Young Player of the month a couple of times. Santos can be deployed in a number of roles, and in Maresca's system, he could play in that deep-lying playmaking role, but I think the best role for him is that box-to-box 8 role. The problem for him is that one of Caicedo, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, or maybe even Connor Gallagher could be playing in that position. So I am interested in seeing where Maresca tries to play him because while the box-to-box eight positions might be best for him, it will probably be the most challenging spot for him to find minutes. 

3. Christopher Nkunku's Positioning

One of the biggest questions many have had is where Nkunku fits into Maresca's setup. If you attempt to get your best 11 on the field, Nkunku might have to play on the left wing. However, he doesn't fit the touchline aspect you have seen from Maresca's sides in the past. You could see him in one of the 8-10 roles at the top of the box midfield; those players have a lot of opportunities in the half spaces and get a lot of goalscoring opportunities. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play even more advanced than we saw those positions play in Maresca's system at Leicester. Without a doubt, he will be playing some striker, but you could see Maresca decide to bump up one of those 10 spaces and make it almost a second striker position. Preseason will be extremely telling in where Nkunku could fit in the Chelsea starting 11.

4. Is there a pathway for Angelo Gabriel?

Chelsea might be in a bit of trouble regarding depth on the right wing, so I wouldn't be shocked if they were looking to potentially keep Angelo Gabriel in the squad this upcoming season. Assuming that Palmer will be playing further inside where he is more dangerous, that just leaves Noni Madueke on the right wing position.

That makes Angelo in my opinion, barring a new RW signing, as the next likely option to take that backup role this season. I think with more matches you could use another body in that position. When Angelo was fit at Strasbourg last season, he was direct, willing to take a man on, and able to showcase his technical ability before getting injured. I think as long as the gametime is there for him it could be smart to give him an opportunity to start the season in London.

Having watched him briefly in Brazil and checking in on him periodically at Strasbourg, I figured that he would fit in what Maresca is trying to do with his touchline wingers. But when looking at some of his data, one thing that caught my eye was his season heatmap. He played very wide for Strasbourg and looked to cut in on his left, looking for shots and creative opportunities. Just in comparison to Angelo’s heatmap below is Abdul Fatawu from Leicester City last season.

Angelo Gabriel 23-24 Strasbourg

Abdul Fatawu 23-24 Leicester City

The one difference you see is the red spot on the right-hand side of the box. Maresca’s system dictates that runners make runs to the byline and find crashing runners, and Angelo can do that. He has the technical ability to succeed, and he won’t be the first choice so that he would find himself in more cup and UEFA conference league matches against lower competition.

I have a sneaky suspicion that he will get many opportunities in preseason and could impress Maresca enough to make the squad.

5. Will the striker situation sort itself out?

As much as Chelsea has sniffed around different striker options such as Samu Omorodion, John Duran, Ivan Toney, etc., as time passes they might be content with seeing how their striker room stands now. Marc Guiu will have every opportunity to take that last striker position to accompany Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku in my opinion.

As of now, Armando Broja and David Datro Fofana are at the club, so I expect them to make the trip here in the next few days to America unless something changes in the next 72 hours. Also, there is Deivid Washington, who had a season wasted not playing much besides the odd PL2 or late substitute appearance.

I think, ideally, Chelsea would want to limit further expenditure on their books and hope that one of these players can catch the eyes of Maresca enough to take some of those cup and UEFA Conference League starts instead of spending 60-100 million on a striker who would want to play all the time potentially hurting Nicolas Jacksons chances to further his development.

Let me know what you all think about these topics in the comments, and let me know what else you are excited to see this preseason. It’s truly hard to believe that it is less than a week away!

Also, I will be attending the Chelsea vs. Celtic fixture in South Bend this summer, so if any of you will be out there partaking in the festivities, drop me a message on Twitter here, and I would love to meet some of you!

~ CFCP (Dylan)