Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri has pointed at Mateo Kovacic and youngster Ethan Ampadu as the players capable of deputizing Jorginho in the central midfield role and this frees up space for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the advanced midfield areas.
The England international has been in and out of the Chelsea first team this season but he may have a bit more of luck in the remaining games of the campaign after the comments by his manager. Sarri has often stuck with Jorginho as the holding midfielder, as he believes the player’s ability to begin attacks quickly is a fine weapon if his brand of football will work in England.
Kovacic has fought for a spot on the left of the advanced midfield with Ross Barkley and Loftus-Cheek while N’Golo Kante plays on the right. But now, the Croatia international is being asked to try something different according to Napoli’s former head coach, Sarri.
“Jorginho played very well and I put Kovacic on the pitch after the fourth goal because Jorginho had a little problem to his groin. This is the only reason, because in my opinion he played a very good match.
We are trying during the training with two players – the first is Ampadu and the second is Kovacic. Maybe for the characteristics, Kovacic is more suitable for this team. As you know, Ampadu is more defensive, but Kovacic is really close to Jorginho at moving the ball very fast at one touch. So, I think in the future he will be able to do this position well.
Kovacic could be a very good option, but then we need to recover completely Ruben Loftus-Cheek after the back problem. Then we can play sometimes with Kovacic as a central midfielder and Jorginho will be able to rest.”
Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea FC
