I know I’m writing this in vain because I do not think for one minute that Mauricio Pochettino will lineup this way on Saturday.
But I honestly think that if he doesn’t even think about lining up this way then he will 100% be missing a trick.
Nicolas Jackson for me isn’t a number 9. His role is as a second or wide striker, but he isn’t what we need as a number 9. I think he can get better and shows a lot of promise, but I don’t see him as a true 9.
Armando Broja just does not look at it at the moment for whatever the reason is for that.
Chelsea have Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling coming back from suspension for Saturday’s away match at Luton Town. And Mykhailo Mudryk must keep starting games with his confidence looking on the rise.
It goes without saying that if Christopher Nkunku is fully fit then he has to start games for us.
Noni Madueke has been unfairly ignored by Pochettino and he deserves to start on Saturday for his last two cameo roles.
So with that said, be bold and start a front four of Madueke on the right, Mudryk on the left, Nkunku as a 10, and Palmer as a false 9 – as some of you on here have also mentioned lately.
Before anyone freaks out about using a false 9, allow me to explain my rationale behind it.
First of all, Palmer HAS played false 9 many times in his youth career and it is a position he can play now in the Premier League. He has a good finish on him and is quite instinctive. I also think he’s better when he is playing centrally rather than being isolated on the right. When he plays on the right, his movement when on the ball becomes too predictable (he’s always going to go inside). Madueke, whilst also left-footed, can go inside or to the byline, and we need that flexibility on our wings.
With Malo Gusto overlapping for Madueke, it would allow him space and freedom to be a key attacker for us and to be direct.
Back to Palmer though, as a false 9 he will obviously be dropping in and playing some one-touch linkups with Nkunku behind him, and the pair can interchange.
Nkunku for me is best as a 10, and he needs to be in that central position to really be able to effect the game as well, just like Palmer. So let them both play centrally and watch them shine.
Mudryk as I said above just needs to start again on Saturday and for me that isn’t even a debate. If Mudryk comes out for Raheem Sterling, who has been poor in the last few games he has played, then I will fully lose it. Mudryk is a confidence player and he is fully building on that now. Put him alongside clever players like Nkunku and Palmer who will play to Mudryk’s strengths with quick touches and creativity, then that will really help all three of them.
This attack for me would be devastating if all four of them play to the levels we know they can play at. I would trust us to score goals so much more with this lineup below than I would with any other lineup, in attack at least.
Obviously many will see this as contradictive because I’ve been so vocal about Levi Colwill not being a left back. But, when you take out the height and physicality of Axel Disasi, I think you do need Colwill’s presence on the pitch. Also, with Mudryk there operating close to Nkunku, the lack of an overlapping full back won’t be too much of a miss. We also need to be aware of Luton on the counter attack and winning turnovers. So having Levi there as the defensive full back would allow Gusto to be the offensive full back.
I also think that when we use those four attackers, who are very attack minded players, then you do need that cover.
But trust me, I don’t want to see Levi as a left back moving forward, it’s just a bit of a needs must I guess when Silva is starting because he doesn’t carry the same height as the other centre backs.
Anyway, none of this will even matter because we all know there is zero chance of Pochettino lining up this way and Sterling, Disasi and Jackson are all 100% starting! But as I say, if he ignores this, he is really missing a trick on Saturday.
I also get the call to play a back three for now, I wouldn’t be adverse to that at all. But I don’t think any back three formation allows you to get all four of those attackers on the pitch together (unless you’re using Mudryk and Madueke as wing backs and nobody needs to see that), and that is what I really want to see.
