This winger decision is easy for Maresca as low fitness and low confidence rule out two | OneFootball

Chelsea made another wave of transfer moves in attacking areas in the summer, letting go of Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho and adding Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian.

The Athletic had an interesting look at the trio at Enzo Maresca’s disposal on the left wing and did some analysis on their different styles and when they might be used by the Italian coach, especially now injuries are starting to drain options in other areas.

Chelsea’s 3 left sided players bring different qualities

Jamie Gittens fights for the ball. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)

“Gittens’ trickery makes him more suited to breaking up a low block. Garnacho’s explosiveness could be useful against tired legs as an impact player,” they write.

“Neto’s love of a drive down the touchline and a cross supercharges counter-attacks. Over what they hope is a long season across multiple competitions, Chelsea will need all of those tools.”

Chelsea’s obvious wing options for today and moving forward

That’s a very good summary of their different strengths. For now, however, the equation is a little more simple. Garnacho just isn’t fit – he’s only just starting to get minutes under his belt after effectively missing preseason and barely seeing any competitive action since the spring.

In time he can be an important option, but for now we only expect to see him off the bench and in cup games.

Gittens looks really shaky in terms of confidence. He’s still young and has only just come to the Premier League, but right now we don’t see any way he starts important games until he’s better adapted.

So Neto is the obvious choice, and he’s who we expect to see today against Brighton. He’s had a year working with Maresca, he’s fit and confident, and it feels like he provides a nice balance with Estevao on the other wing.