Liam Rosenior makes Chelsea selection vow after Arsenal U-turn | OneFootball

The head coach had a change of heart against the Gunners

Liam Rosenior has vowed to give Dario Essugo minutes in the coming weeks after an aborted appearance against Arsenal.

Essugo has not played for Chelsea since making three cameo appearances in their Club World Cup campaign last summer.

The Portugal youth international, 20, was named on the bench for Chelsea’s first three matches of the season, but injuries have since hampered his progress.

Rosenior insists there are first-team minutes to come for Essugo, who is the only fit understudy to Moises Caicedo while Romeo Lavia continues rehabilitation after his latest injury.

“He was very close to coming on [against Arsenal],” Rosenior said of Essugo. “Actually, I called him to come on.

“That changed, because other things had happened in that time frame where physically some of the other players were tiring and I felt I needed to keep Enzo [Fernandez] and Andrey [Santos] in the middle of the pitch because I thought Enzo was outstanding. Andrey, in his own way, was very good.”

Rosenior added: “Dario is close. I’m aware of his abilities; I’m aware of his strengths.

“But I want to give him the best possible moment to show himself in the best way. He’s coming from a long way out.”

Rosenior said Essugo is training “very well” and was asked whether the former Las Palmas midfielder can expect game time for Chelsea in the weeks to come.

“For sure,” the head coach replied. “He’s a very good player.”

Essugo was signed from Sporting in part due to his underlying data being remarkably similar to that of Caicedo, widely recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.