Chelsea are on the verge of completing the signings of Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens and Brighton & Hove Albion forward Joao Pedro.
The pair will become Chelsea’s sixth and seventh first-team additions of the summer window and they will join a forward line that already contains a plethora of highly-rated stars.
But, how will the pair fit in at Stamford Bridge and will they both feature in Enzo Maresca’s favoured team next campaign?
How Chelsea could line up with Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro
It’s actually rather unlikely that Gittens and Pedro will both feature in Chelsea’s preferred starting XI.
Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson are expected to battle for the centre forward spot, Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian and Noni Madueke, if he remains at the club, will be in contention to start as a right winger, and Cole Palmer will start in an attacking midfield role.
Meanwhile, Gittens would offer Maresca the chance to use a natural winger on the left touchline, and Pedro could be used as an inverted left winger, with Marc Cucurella providing width from full-back.
Pedro’s best football has come in a second-striker role, although he will only play in that position at Chelsea when Palmer is injured or rested. Otherwise, he’ll be utilised as a versatile option across multiple roles and he is more likely to feature as an impact substitute.
Robert Sanchez is expected to retain his place in between the sticks next campaign, due to Chelsea’s failure to land Mike Maignan, while the Blues’ back four will pick itself when Maresca has a fully fit squad to choose from.
Reece James will feature at right-back, Wesley Fofana will partner Levi Colwill at centre-back and Marc Cucurella will be deployed at left-back.
Maresca will chop and change his midfield options throughout the season to ensure his star players are fresh across multiple competitions, but Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will remain first-choice.
Andrey Santos, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo are likely to be rewarded with significant minutes throughout the season, however they may not start the most important fixtures.
Neto’s form at the Club World Cup means he is set to establish himself as Chelsea’s preferred right winger while Estevao adjusts to life in England, with Gittens likely to start on the left.
Palmer, meanwhile, will feature in a No.10 role behind Delap. Pedro will be used as a starter in domestic cup competitions and some Premier League fixtures, while he will likely be a substitute option in the Champions League.
Chelsea’s likely starting XI when Gittens and Pedro arrive
GK: Robert Sanchez
RB: Reece James
CB: Wesley Fofana
CB: Levi Colwill
LB: Marc Cucurella
CM: Moises Caicedo
CM: Enzo Fernandez
RW: Pedro Neto
CAM: Cole Palmer
LW: Jamie Gittens
ST: Liam Delap
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