Although Maurizio Sarri’s start to life as Chelsea boss has gone swimmingly, he’ll still be looking to improve.
Defensively, Chelsea look shaky, with David Luiz showing once again on Saturday why he isn’t a long-term solution.
Also, Sarri’s preferred midfield-trio of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic provides little attacking thrust.
Whilst they’re all excellent at keeping possession – which is important for Sarri – they are too reliant on Eden Hazard to score goals.
And with Chelsea’s strikers going through a barren spell, Sarri will be hoping for goals from the midfield.
At Napoli, he had Marek Hamsik in midfield, who regularly chipped in with goals – he is Napoli’s all-time leading goalscorer.
But none of his Chelsea midfielders fulfil that role, so there could be an opening for Ross Barkley.
His goal-scoring abilities have been on display recently, as he’s grabbed two goals in Chelsea’s last two games – including their late equaliser against Manchester United.
And whilst Kante and Jorginho are more comfortable sitting deep, Barkley likes to play nearer the attackers.
This could play a vital role for Sarri in linking his midfield and the front-line, and would take some of the weight of Hazard’s shoulders.
Although Kovacic has made a good start to the season, it is Barkley’s goal-scoring that should see him start.
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