Christopher Nkunku is set to make his Chelsea debut against Newcastle tonight - and Mauricio Pochettino will be licking his lips at the prospect of linking him up with Cole Palmer.
Nkunku has had to be patient after suffering a serious knee injury in pre-season, but the £52million summer signing is in line to come off the bench in tonight’s Carabao Cup quarter-final.
In the 26-year-old France striker’s absence, Palmer has stepped up to lead the Blues’ attack.
The £40m signing from Manchester City has excelled in three different positions: as a striker, on the right wing and as a No10. His match-winning display against Sheffield United on Saturday took him to six goals and five assists in 16 matches, the most in the Chelsea squad in all competitions this season.
Palmer is stylish, uninhibited and consistent, having played in similar pressure situations under Pep Guardiola, and is the man Pochettino already calls his “playmaker”.
The 21-year-old’s emergence is the one major change to the Chelsea frontline since Nkunku tore cartilage in his left knee in Chicago in August.
Pochettino had been building his attack around Nkunku on the pre-season US tour, and he impressed with three goals in four matches.
Nkunku could now start to help transform an attack being led by Palmer and Raheem Sterling, with Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja all in patchy form.
Like Palmer, Nkunku can play up front, on the wings or in midfield – and the challenge for Pochettino will be finding his best role in the team.
Nkunku is quick, good in the air, technically gifted, versatile and decisive in the final third; he scored 35 goals and had 20 assists for RB Leipzig last season.
With Chelsea down in 10th place in the Premier League table and under pressure, Pochettino insists he cannot expect too much, too soon from the Frenchman.
“My worry is putting too much pressure on him and saying that, now he has arrived, the guy will make us win every game and change everything.
"I don't believe it will be like this, because he now needs time to recover his feelings. He needs to find himself, find the competition and then adapt to a team that has been competing without him in the last four or five months,” the Chelsea manager said.
Pochettino wants to ease Nkunku back from the bench after his long lay-off and has said “maybe he can play 20 minutes” against Newcastle.
Palmer will continue to carry Chelsea in the meantime, but Pochettino will be hoping it is not long before he can unleash the young Englishman and Nkunku in tandem.
