Chelsea dream attack after £110m Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens transfers with controversial snub

Chelsea's preferred frontline last season, including Cole Palmer as the No.10, was Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, and Noni Madueke. The latter two wingers both played more minutes than Jadon Sancho.

The way in which the forward dynamics changed was interesting throughout.Madueke started as the first-choice on the right having ended the 2023/24 campaign well under Mauricio Pochettino. Pedro Neto arrived with the prospect of starting on the left but quickly emerged as favouring the right.

The overflow of bodies with Jadon Sancho, Tyrique George, Joao Felix, and Christopher Nkunku soon became split between domestic and European action with the Conference League offering minutes to those who were not in Enzo Maresca's main XI. Madueke and Neto were the two regulars, though.

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Between them, they shared the right flank for most of the first half of the season. They competed to win the spot permanently and rarely started together. Sancho benefited from this and tied down the left.

When injuries struck in early February, the dial shifted. Neto had to cover up front and Madueke was ruled out. From then on, Neto's stock has risen and Madueke's has fallen.

By the end of the campaign they were back in tandem but only with Madueke on the left flank. He was more dangerous in a one-on-one aspect than Sancho and certainly Nkunku. Whilst he looked sharp against Everton and Liverpool, that faded and he has struggled to find the 2024 levels since.

Madueke is now firmly behind Neto on the right and that trend has continued into the Club World Cup.When Neto has been moved to the left in Maresca's experiments, it has seen Palmer drift right or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall used.

Against Benfica, Maresca hatched a surprise with Palmer on the left and an ostensible 4-3-3 selected. Palmer still dropped deep and occupied the half-spaces, with Neto holding width on the right and Marc Cucurella to support as a rampaging full-back rather than inverting option, but it was still a change.

It largely worked as well, especially after Palmer's move to a wide-right spot against Flamengo resulted in his most anonymous performance for some time. In order to get all of Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Romeo Lavia into a team with Palmer, Maresca has adapted with new systems.

It remains a serious challenge.Doing so without compromising James as a midfielder or Caicedo as a full-back has been hard work.It hasn't always worked, and it limits Palmer to push him wide.

But Chelsea will continue to try new methods. The arrival of Jamie Gittens will solve some of these issues as he is naturally a touchline hugger who likes to dribble and go direct. He is among the best dribblers around, even if his end product and decision making still leave plenty to be desired, which is to be expected of a 20-year-old.

He is set to be the starting left-winger to essentially replace Sancho and Mykhailo Mudryk, who remains out through suspension and could do for some while longer. When adding Fernandez and Andrey Santos into the mix, because both can play in advanced midfield roles designed to crash the box, there are plenty of avenues Maresca can go down.

In big games he can play the destroyer midfield of Santos, Caicedo, and Dario Essugo for physicality. That would take away Palmer's central spot, though, as it uses three from deep.

What Maresca chooses in midfield will have an impact on the attack, and vice versa. There will be designated plans for each opposition and Chelsea have the personnel to be flexible.

With Champions League football returning, there are minutes to be shared and a plethora of ways to keep testing ideas. Liam Delap will be able to compete with Jackson for the No.9 position and ensure that Chelsea do not fall foul of having their striker grow tired.

Maresca did not have that luxury last season with Jackson as the only senior centre forward available. Now there is set to be three players all capable of playing there.

When Joao Pedro joins, he will be the backup left-winger, No.10, and striker.It is a role that Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix played last season but grew frustrated at. Pedro will hope to have more success than both of them whilst Maresca aims to find sustainable ways of managing and rotating his squad.

The strange matter here is that in Chelsea's best XI, Pedro really might not feature. For a player costing £55million plus add-ons, this is not normal.

He will challenge Gittens on the left but is not as direct or winger-leaning.Palmer is the No.10, and if he isn't then Fernandez or Santos will have an argument to take it. Maybe Pedro can come in for Palmer if Maresca wanted to move his best player to the right, allowing James to overlap again.

These are the tweaks Chelsea can now make to their team, but it is still tricky to fit Pedro in. If Palmer was to go to the right and Pedro play centrally, that would either mean dropping Neto (and further pushing Madueke down the order) or going without a focal point up front and having Neto there instead.

Pedro could be used as a versatile striker too but now Chelsea have two players better suited, his game time might be limited. Once more, it is an option open to Maresca. The dilemma is that his newest signing may well be unique to the squad in terms of profile - he is a ball progressor and linkplayer like Nkunku, who is sure to be sold - yet does not naturally slot into last season's system.

On paper, Chelsea's best attack with Gittens and Pedro is: Neto, Palmer, Gittens, and then one of Jackson or Delap, which may well be a coin toss depending on the opponent. Jackson is not popular within the fanbase but offers more of a well-rounded passing and link-up game.

When Chelsea do rotate, that offers space to Pedro in the first XI. It won't be as simple as plugging him in and improving the starting team immediately, though.