Chelsea take on Ajax in just a few minutes, and before kick off we heard from Jamie Gittens, the winger trying to improve on a dodgy start to his career at Stamford Bridge with a positive showing tonight after he was handed a rare start.
Gittens admits to early struggles at Chelsea after summer arrival
“Champions League nights at the Bridge – nothing can beat it. It’s been challenging sometimes [during this settling in period], I am still adapting. I just have to keep on going and pushing myself,” the winger, who arrived in a big money £50m deal from Dortmund in the summer, said to the TV interviewer.
“We will try to keep calm on the pitch, don’t do anything silly. We can be better, but it happens in football. It’s part of the game. Exactly that [beat Ajax and finish with 11 players on the pitch].”
Alejandro Garnacho has quickly jumped ahead of Gittens in the pecking order, and even with Liam Delap and Cole Palmer out for extended periods, the England youth international has struggled for minutes, even as a sub.
Competition is only going to get tougher as options open up for Enzo Maresca, and that’s why Gittens needs to make the most of these chances when they come around.
In other news…
One player we’re really hoping to see tonight is 16 year old Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, who is on the bench and could make his debut as a replacement for Gittens later in the game.
Meanwhile the London is Blue podcast took a look at tonight’s opposition and how we might look to hurt them – this team Enzo Maresca has selected looks perfectly suited to do just that, and Gittens should have plenty of space down his flank to run at defenders.
