Mauricio Pochettino has now been using Chelsea defender as a winger in pre-season training – journalist

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Journalist Nizaar Kinsella has claimed that Mauricio Pochettino has been trialling using Ian Maatsen as a winger in pre-season training.

He took to Twitter to state that he was playing in front of Marc Cucurella in a 4-2-3-1 system being used by the manager in an open training session.

One player whose future has all of a sudden gotten exciting at Stamford Bridge is Maatsen, with many expecting he would not even be at the club when the new season comes around.

It was thought that Burnley, the side he enjoyed such a strong loan spell with last season

However, Pochettino has already claimed that he is keen to take a look at the Dutchman in his squad, as one of numerous left-back options.

Pochettino using Maatsen as a winger

Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella will both feel like they have points to prove going into this campaign, and they will also be looking to hold off the extremely promising Lewis Hall.

Pre-season is always a time to trial new things as the manager looks to see what quality he has got available to him ahead of tonight’s curtain-raiser against Wrexham.

Kinsella has claimed that one of the players he has been using in a new position is Maatsen, lining him up on the left of the three behind the striker.

He said: “Chelsea are currently doing a shape exercise in 4-2-3-1. The line up without GK is Gusto, Chalobah, Humphreys, Cucurella; Casadei, Santos, Chukwuemeka; Moreira, Jackson, Maatsen.”

A number of first team options were clearly doing another drill at the time, with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk surely looking to force their way in to the starting side when the Premier League season gets underway.