Report: Potter expected to leave 23-year-old Chelsea player on the bench for his first league game in charge vs Palace
Reports have suggested that Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah is expected to be on the bench for this weekend’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.
According to The Athletic, there’ll be no repeat of last season’s scenes from the start, with him finding the net against the Eagles on his Chelsea debut last season.
This weekend’s fixture will be Graham Potter’s first league outing with the Blues, after he took over the manager role from Thomas Tuchel earlier this month.
Other than the Champions League draw against RB Salzburg, the world is yet to see the effect the Englishman will have on Chelsea, who have endured a difficult start to the campaign.
Chalobah has mostly not been involved in this, with him starting just one game in all competitions under the former manager this season.
Chalobah to be benched
The Blues even enjoyed a rare win in that game against Leicester City, although the result didn’t lead to the 23-year-old being rewarded with more game time.
Unfortunately for the Englishman, this trend is set to continue with The Athletic reporting that Potter is expected to leave him out of the starting XI this weekend.
This is despite reports claiming that the new man in charge has been considering utilising Chalobah in a midfield role similar to that normally taken up by Jorginho.
This was reportedly given a chance in a behind closed doors friendly against Brighton two weeks ago in a game the Blues won thanks to a Carney Chukwuemeka brace.
With new signings Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella all added to the options at the back who remained at Stamford Bridge this season, the defensive position looks a difficult one to break into, and Chalobah may be hopeful to showcase his ability on the ball better in a midfield role.
