More progressive carries than Neto and Palmer combined; serious work rate – the winger Maresca’s going to love | OneFootball

Alejandro Garnacho’s utility to this Chelsea team is already becoming clear.

The winger was signed at a time when it didn’t look clear what his role would be, but as injuries have ripped through the squad he’s immediately become useful.

Garnacho’s two big qualities which make him a menace to face

Enzo Maresca embraces Alejandro Garnacho. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

A look at his stats show that he’s already showing really impressive numbers in terms of progressive carries – that is, runs of over 10 metres with the ball.

He’s averaged ten per game. Of course he’s had a very small sample size, but when you compared that to his nearest competition like Jamie Gittens (5.71), Cole Palmer (5.38) and Pedro Neto (4.46), it’s clear that he’s going to really do well in that category even when he regresses to the mean a little.

What we’ve also been really impressed by is his work rate. He was caught sleeping on his debut when he allowed a late goal after switching off at the far post, but when actively defending he’s been superb. He’s willing to run all day and is clearly motivated to impress his new fans and coach.

Combine that on one side with Pedro Neto on the other and you’ve got a really fearsome, hard running wing attack. We think those two will quickly become Enzo Maresca’s go-to pair out wide while Estevao continued to be used off the bench.

In other news…

In attacking terms, the question right now is how to get the most out of Joao Pedro. Some podcasters have speculated we could use Marc Guiu as a 9 to allow the Brazilian to play deeper.

Another brilliant talent we’ve thought about adding is Kenan Yildiz from Juventus – an unrealistic dream unless we sell someone major.