Chelsea hold talks over star's future amid Nkunku injury concerns
In the end, it was a typical cup victory over a lower division team, but Chelsea didn't make easy work of Preston North End at Stamford Bridge. A goalless first half left Mauricio Pochettino fuming as he headed back down the tunnel before the referee blew his whistle and the Blues looked lacking in quality to find a way past Freddie Woodman.
Things didn't immediately improve when the players returned from the break, but Mykhailo Mudyrk and Malo Gusto were able to find a quality moment for Armando Broja to equalize with a header. The Albanian international opened the scoring and allowed the floodgates to open as Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez added a goal each.
The west London side battled their way to the fourth round of the FA Cup to maintain an unbeaten record in knockout football since Pochettino's arrival at the club. With Middlesbrough next in the Carabao Cup semi-final, football.london takes a look below at some of the conversations that emerged following Chelsea's victory.
Armando Broja audition
It was a difficult first half for the 22-year-old forward. He lacked much action in the box and found it difficult to maintain possession of the ball on the rare opportunities he was able to get to him. Ultimately, the currency of his performances lies in finding the net and he was able to do just that against Preston on Saturday afternoon.
This month we will see further scrutiny on the Cobham product with Nicolas Jackson in Ivory Coast representing Senegal in the African Cup of Nations. That level of pressure will only have increased when Christopher Nkunku suffered a hip problem on Friday which saw him miss the FA Cup clash with uncertainty over whether he will play for the next seven days.
It was the young striker's second goal of the season, having last scored in his first start against Fulham in October. Finding his way back to full fitness and fluidity following his ACL injury has proven difficult and Broja's 76-minute outing at Stamford Bridge was his longest stay on the pitch all season.
Pochettino insists that Broja has a lot of potential and in the summer he was aware of his path. The Blues boss wants the striker to do more to recover from his absence through injury.
He said in his press conference: “It is very important for him, but I have to be honest, I think he needs to use this type of game to improve. Not just his fitness or his work ethic ability, he needs to step up and smile more and be more positive in the way he needs to improve in his game. The potential is amazing, we are talking about a young striker here in England or Europe, with one of the most potential. He needs to make an effort and we are going to try to help him, so that we realize that it is never enough and we work very hard.
“By the way, he suffered a big injury in the past, almost a year from now and now he needs time. It is not easy for him to perform or be at the level we expect. “Our expectations are huge and we really need it and we will push for it.”
Broja's performances in the upcoming games could go a long way in helping Chelsea decide whether to go into the market for a new striker. There is a chance that Broja, Jackson and Nkunku will be enough for the rest of the season and beyond, but if a move is expected in the transfer market it would seem inevitable that the Cobham product will make his way.
Pochettino continues to understand Broja's situation this season, but also wants to boost him further with high praise. The forward's future could take direction in the coming weeks.
Transfer meeting awaits
Once again it became clear that Chelsea, for the moment, do not seem determined to have as busy a January transfer window as they did 12 months ago. They are keen to strengthen up front and at the back, but there appears to be just as much opportunity for that to happen in the summer as there is in the coming weeks.
It is understood the club still need to discover what the squad really offers as the injury list has dwindled, with 11 players absent on Saturday afternoon. Instead, the focus is likely to be on who has the future outside the club.
Borussia Dortmund are interested in Ian Maatsen, while there remains interest in Trevoh Chalobah. Facilitating loans for those on the margins also appears to be on the agenda.
On Sunday, Pochettino will meet Laurence Stewart, Paul Winstanley and Behdad Eghbali at Cobham to expand on their daily conversation. Andrey Santos appears to be at the top of that list to talk about following his return from Nottingham Forest.
“To be honest, we don't talk about names,” Pochettino said in response to a question about Jordan Henderson. “At the moment we are not talking about bringing in players. I saw Behdad here in the manager's room with Paul and Laurence. I think tomorrow we'll chat because we'll be at the training ground. We don't talk about names or we talk about position, we don't talk about bringing in players. For now we are focusing on players like Andrey Santos to see what we are going to do.”
Opportunities
While there wasn't much rotation out of Pochettino's starting XI, Saturday's win saw Aflie Gilchrist make his full debut, while 17-year-old Michael Golding appeared for the senior team for the first time. Dylan Williams from the development team also made the bench for the first time this season, having last appeared in the group in February 2022.
The two goalkeepers who remained on the bench will have frustrated some, while Leo Castledine probably missed the group after picking up a knock earlier in the week. However, with the presence of academy coaching staff Mark Robinson and James Simmonds, the Preston match will have been seen as a connecting point and an example of a path between the first team and the academy. With another FA Cup match to come and a championship challenge in the Carabao Cup, perhaps more opportunities await him.
Having practiced little throughout the match, Gilchrist put in a strong performance for an hour and was arguably the best player on the field during this period. It's safe to say the outing was a proud moment for the Blues fan.
He said after the game: “It's crazy being a Chelsea fan and being here for so long meant a lot to me as well as my friends and family in the crowd. Great time and I just want to keep going. I really enjoyed it, when I played in the under-21s I always used to say that in the EFL Trophy, playing against men's teams, they are my favorite games because they are a challenge.”
Whether he continues to complement the first team with Benoit Badiasihle and Ben Chilwell close to a return or whether he is in a position to take advantage of the loan interest will be an interesting narrative to follow in the coming weeks.
Chelsea have welcomed several academy stars into first-team training this season, such have been the club's injury problems. Golding was part of the group this week and was rewarded.
Levi Colwill, a Cobham product and captain against Preson, said of the England under-17 international: “He's very organized, training alongside him you see what a player he is and hopefully he keeps working hard and can make more appearances.”
There is a lot of talent that will now be eager to appear. Castledine will know an opportunity could be close as long as Ishe Samuels-Smith was once again in the mix. A talent like Kiano Dyer should know that perhaps he too can find a route, as the 16-year-old has already impressed at under-21 level.
