Joe Cole has suggested that Chelsea may struggle to keep Andrey Santos happy after his ‘absolutely outstanding’ performance against Burnley.
Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez fired Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Turf Moor on Saturday, moving the Blues up to second in the Premier League table.
Following a late return from international duty with Ecuador, Enzo Maresca opted to rest Moises Caicedo on the bench, with Santos coming in for the in-form defensive midfielder.
It was an unenviable task for the 21-year-old but he rose to the occasion, winning the player of the match award after an industrious performance, with Caicedo’s absence not felt.
Former Chelsea star Cole was full of praise for the Brazil international, telling TNT Sports: ‘He was outstanding. It wasn’t much on the ball, he was very tidy, very efficient. But off the ball…
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‘We questioned it, how would Chelsea react without Caicedo today because of the things that he can do, blocking runs and breaking down play.
‘But he was absolutely outstanding. Every time there was a bit of danger he sniffed it out. Sometimes players have a natural ability with this and he seems to be one of them players.
‘Now Chelsea have got Enzo, [Romeo] Lavia, Caicedo and Santos. Is there a collection of four central midfielders better in the Premier League? I don’t think there is.’
But while the Blues’ squad depth is impressive, Cole highlighted that it could prove a ‘problem’ down the line, with Santos unlikely to start many games when Caicedo is available, which could prompt him to leave Stamford Bridge.
‘We’ve seen players who’ve come in and some have bided their time and got into the team,’ the former attacking midfielder added.
‘There’s some, most famously [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Mohammed] Salah, who have said no, I need to start my career elsewhere because Chelsea have traditionally stockpiled players over the years and it is a big squad.
‘So, how many games is he [Santos] going to play? What’s his minutes? Chelsea have got designs of going deep into all competitions. I think he’ll play enough to satisfy him for now. But for me, he looks like a starter and there’s a lot of players at Chelsea all of a sudden [who could be starting].
‘Cole Palmer coming back is a problem now because [Joao] Pedro looks more comfortable in the 10. Obviously Cole Palmer’s got to play. There’s a lot of options.
‘It’s looking rosy. Three points behind Arsenal going into the game next week. Chelsea could be sneaking back into the title contention.’
This was the first time that Maresca has not played Caicedo in a Premier League game and in his post-match press conference the head coach laughingly said: ‘I won’t do it anymore, it’s the last time!’
He then went on to praise Santos, adding: ‘He was very good. Andrey’s position is the position that he played today.
‘With us, most of the time he plays a little bit higher, a little bit in the pocket, but it’s because in that position we have Moises, so we try to find solutions, space for Andrey, but we are aware and we know that Andrey’s position is the position that he played today.’
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