Chelsea Football Club is in a bad way right now. Its usually iron-clad defense has been leaking goals all over the place and its best offensive players haven’t been scoring many goals. That’s generally not a very good combination, which is why the club is off to its worst start for nearly 40 years.
Manager Jose Mourinho, widely-regarded as one of the best managers in the world, has never endured a run as bad as this, and at times even he’s looked perplexed by the problem. But he might
have just received an unexpected boost.
Chelsea’s right back Branislav Ivanovic was injured while playing for Serbia last week and could be out for three weeks. That’s obviously not good news because, when he’s healthy and in-form, Ivanovic is one of the best players in the team. But that’s not been the case this season — far from it. The 31-year-old right back has performed so poorly this season that he’s seen by many as the central problem, and at times it’s clear the opposition is targeting him as the weak link.
Mourinho in his part has axed every player in his team but has stayed loyal to Ivanvoic. But now, regardless of whether he’s past it or simply experiencing a bad run of form, Mourinho is being forced to try something new.
According to The Telegraph:
Jose Mourinho will consider asking Kurt Zouma to play as a makeshift full-back in Chelsea’s must-win game against Aston Villa because of the hamstring injury Branislav Ivanovic suffered on international duty …
His physical presence may be attractive to Mourinho for the Villa game, with Rudy Gestede posing the greatest threat for Tim Sherwood’s team in the air.
Kurt Zouma doesn’t fit the mold of a traditional full back: He’s slower, bigger, and not a good enough dribbler to be a classic full back, but that’s fine, because that’s not Mourinho wants from his full backs. Mourinho doesn’t want his full backs to go forward — what he wants, essentially, is another center back who lives out wide and sits back, only occasionally venturing out to quickly dispossess the opposition.
Zouma proved his adaptability when he slotted into midfield for the first time during the Carling Cup final last year. He’s not a long-term solution at right back, but in the interim, he has all the skills to provide just what Chelsea needs.
