Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has explained his recent decision to use Marcos Alonso in his starting XI more often than Ben Chilwell.
Chilwell joined Chelsea from Leicester City in the summer, coming in under previous manager Frank Lampard, but he’s found playing time harder to come by since Tuchel took over.
It remains to be seen what will happen in the future, with Tuchel not ruling out a way back for Chilwell at some point.
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“He offered some hope to Chilwell over getting back into the team, but also explained his current thinking behind giving Alonso more opportunities to start matches,” Tuchel is quoted by the Metro.
“We took the choice for Marcos in a game where we played with five [defenders] because he was more familiar with the position, he played under Antonio Conte and we opted for him for his strengths in the air, to defend and attack set pieces.
“Marcos did a very good match and scored the decisive goal and from there it was hard to come back. I had a talk with him before the Tottenham match and told him ‘You have to trust me now, I see the potential, I see your talent’.”
He added: “It’s my job to not lose these players, and to help them not to lose their trust, and if he keeps on going he’s a fantastic guy and he has a lot of potential and we will find possibilities for him to be on the pitch.
“At the same time, we wanted to have a start where we are fair to everybody and we don’t judge nobody by the amount of money that the club has spent, but to give everybody the feeling that this is a fresh start.
“If Marcos is in the moment the guy who took a bit the advantage of this situation, yes, but this is not the end for Chilly’s development, for sure.”
‘It’s possible that [Chilwell] thinks a lot about this situation, hopefully not too much because he can have trust in himself first of all, and he can trust us as staff that we will keep on pushing and we will find possibilities to reward him.
Chelsea fans will surely understand Tuchel trying to give a fresh start to everyone in the squad, with Alonso looking to be in the team on merit at the moment.
The Spaniard was less of a regular under Lampard, but previously established himself as a star player at Stamford Bridge when Antonio Conte was in charge.
Chilwell may have been a big signing for CFC this season, but Alonso remains a fine player who clearly has a role in this squad.