Pochettino clarifies decision to drop Enzo Fernandez in Chelsea’s victory against Sheffield United
Pochettino clarifies decision to drop Enzo Fernandez in Chelsea’s victory against Sheffield United
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was left out of his side’s 2-0 win against Sheffield United on Saturday.
It was just the second time Enzo Fernandez did not make Chelsea‘s starting XI in the Premier League this season, and Mauricio Pochettino has explained to football.london and other outlets why the 22-year-old was omitted on this occasion.
Fernandez has not been at his best of late and has really come under scrutiny, with former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan claiming that he is not worth the amount of money the Blues paid for him.
Chelsea broke their transfer record to sign the Argentine earlier this year, bringing him in from Benfica in a £107m deal (BBC Sport).
Mauricio Pochettino explains why he dropped Enzo Fernandez
Speaking after Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino suggested that Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher were better fits for the game than Fernandez.
On his decision to leave the former Benfica man out, the Blues boss said: “Only 11 can play. It’s a big competition and sometimes you need one characteristic. One profile or another profile.
“I need to choose the player and of course we saw the combination between Caicedo and Gallagher and [Cole] Cole like a No. 10 was a possibility for the best combination for today.”
Will Enzo Fernandez win back his place?
You would assume so. It looks like Pochettino just wanted to go with a different method for the Sheffield United game, while Fernandez is not the sort of player you leave on the bench too often. After all, Chelsea paid over £100m to acquire his signature.
Again, the Argentina international has not been amazing this season, but overall, he is still a very good player with a lot of quality.
Fernandez is a terrific passer, for example, completing 4.3 long balls per game in the current campaign, the second-highest average in Chelsea’s squad (WhoScored).
For £107m, his critics will probably want to see more than that, though. They are going to want to see goals and assists from him.