Maresca admits I “don’t have a proper 9” and suggests a change to his setup | OneFootball

It was truly panic stations last night when the news came out that Nicolas Jackson was going to be injured for the rest of the season.

Both he and backup striker Marc Guiu have hamstring problems, and face a couple of months out. With the transfer window closed, there aren’t many moves we can make now.

Our writer Simon Phillips has already suggested that we pick up Diego Costa on a free transfer to take us through the next two months, although that feels like a stretch. It’s much more likely that a solution comes from within the squad – but quite how that works we’re not sure.

We’ve seen Christopher Nkunku try to fill in for Jackson – that was the setup in our defeat at Brighton on Saturday night. But the Frenchman couldn’t really be a more different player, and he plays such a different style. It just doesn’t work.

Nkunku starring role will require major team shift

Christopher Nkunku runs with the ball against Heidenheim. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

As Maresca himself said in today’s press conference, if we’re going to bring Nkunku into the team, it will involve changing how the whole side is set up:

“We are working, because of the Nico and Marc situation, we are trying to find different solutions. That can be Christo because he played the last game, or it can be different kind of players. If you don’t have a proper nine, who can be a threat always, you have to change not only the nine but also a bit the way you want to play.”

Nkunku has had his fair share of games this season, but mostly in the Conference League with an entirely different XI. He needs to get used to playing with the first team, and Maresca needs to set the team up to play to his strengths.