Mauricio Pochettino must hand 21-year-old his first Chelsea PL start against Fulham – opinion

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Mauricio Pochettino will certainly have been handed a number of selection headaches following Chelsea’s return to winning ways against Brighton.

A rotated Blues side advanced to the next round of the EFL Cup with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, and a number of those who have lacked first team minutes had the chance to show what they can do.

Coming in from the cold, Marc Cucurella put in a brilliant performance out-of-position, and has certainly staked his claim for a place in the side amidst the full-back injury crisis.

However, another player who has surely staked his claim for a start is Ian Maatsen. Many will be bemused as to how he has not yet been named a starter in the league this season.

In what turned out to be an unbeaten pre-season tour of the United States, the Dutchman was one of the standout performers in a variety of positions.

He featured all across the attacking line despite playing the majority of football in his career in the left-back role.

Maatsen must start vs Fulham

That position in particular has a big question mark over it right now, after news emerged that Ben Chilwell will be out for the next four weeks.

The England international had been dropped for the last two league games, with Levi Colwill filling the role on that side of defence.

While he is perfectly competent there, the youngster is far more comfortable in the middle, as shown on Wednesday night.

Pochettino should take this opportunity to hand Maatsen his first start for the club in the league, and therefore prove to him that there is a pathway to the first team.

By doing that, his contract situation is surely going to be easier to sort.