Chelsea would be 'taking risk' with plan £20k-a-week star at Stamford Bridge | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Graham Potter would be taking a ‘little bit’ of a risk by fielding Trevoh Chalobah in midfield, according to journalist Dean Jones.

Potter is set to take charge of his first Premier League game in charge of the Blues when they take on Crystal Palace over the weekend, and it remains to be seen how he is going to line up.

Over the summer, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Chalobah was prepared to leave Chelsea on loan after they made their intention to sign fellow centre-back Wesley Fofana clear.

And Romano has recently stated that the 23-year-old could still depart Stamford Bridge in January, with RB Leipzig, Inter Milan and AC Milan previously registering an interest in him.

However, after Chelsea had two successive Premier League fixtures against Fulham and Liverpool postponed prior to the international break, they faced Brighton in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Amex Stadium.

The capital club came out 2-1 winners, but the most intriguing aspect of that victory was arguably that Chalobah was fielded at the base of the engine room, flanked by Conor Gallagher and Denis Zakaria.

Transfermarkt state that the former England Under-21 international has turned out 86 times in that role throughout his senior career, potentially indicating that a change of position could be in the offing under Potter.

What has Jones said about Chalobah?

Chelsea started the season slowly, ultimately leading to former boss Thomas Tuchel being sacked before Potter was hired as his replacement.

And when asked if Chalobah could be moved into a midfield role to try and transform their fortunes, Jones disclosed that he believes it would be a ‘risky’ tactic.

He told GiveMeSport: “Maybe, I mean, it seems a little bit risky to me to be trying out things like that at this stage with the way that Chelsea have been playing.”

Does Chalobah deserve more of a chance?

Chalobah, who earns £20,000-per-week, enjoyed a breakout season with Chelsea last term following successful loan spells with Ipswich Town, Huddersfield and FC Lorient.

The 6 foot 3 ace registered four goals and two assists in 30 appearances across all competitions in 2021/22 but has played just 90 minutes in the current campaign after starting against Leicester City.

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As per FBref, Chalobah has also ranked in the 94th percentile for completed dribbles, 93rd for pass completion and 89th for non-penalty expected goals amongst his positional peers over the last year.

Therefore, Chalobah may be hoping he gets a chance to revive his Chelsea career under Potter after arguably being harshly frozen out under Tuchel.