Jose Mourinho will consider asking Kurt Zouma to play as a makeshift full-back in Chelsea’s must-win game against Aston Villa because of the hamstring injury Branislav Ivanovic suffered on international duty.
Right-back Ivanovic was injured in Serbia’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania and had to withdraw from the squad for the next game against Portugal.
The defender has undergone tests at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and could be out for around three weeks, prompting Mourinho to consider his options ahead of Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The most obvious solution would be to bring in £21million summer signing Baba Rahman at left-back and move Cesar Azpilicueta to the right in place of Ivanovic.
But Chelsea manager Mourinho still has reservations over whether Rahman is ready to make his Premier League debut, having so far only appeared in the Champions League against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Walsall in the Capital One Cup.
When questioned why Rahman had not replaced the out-of-form Ivanovic for the Southampton game, which Chelsea lost 3-1, Mourinho said: “Baba Rahman arrived in the last day (of the transfer window) and he doesn’t know what it is to play in this kind of championship. He had no pre-season with us. He needs time to learn and adapt.
“At the same time, every team except Maccabi Tel Aviv is a team of giants. If you don’t have a minimum of five tall players good in the air, you are dead on set-pieces. When I play Azpilicueta on the right and Baba on the left, I have only three. So we have to think about all the details.”
Rahman has had extra time to try to prove he is capable of facing Villa after a mix-up over his visa meant the 21-year-old could not travel with Ghana to face Canada in Washington and, instead, remained at Cobham this week to train with his Chelsea team-mates.
Zouma is naturally a central defender and is already competing with captain John Terry and Gary Cahill for a place in the middle.
The Frenchman has previously proved his versatility by playing as a holding midfielder and has appeared at right-back earlier in his career, and at left-back for Chelsea during pre-season. His physical presence may be attractive to Mourinho for the Villa game, with Rudy Gestede posing the greatest threat for Tim Sherwood’s team in the air.
If Mourinho decides Rahman is not ready, Zouma could either directly replace Ivanovic on the right, or come in on the left and allow Azpilicueta to move over to the right.
Zouma played the final half-an-hour of Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against Barcelona at left-back and afterwards said: “It is a new position for me, I played there only one time when I was at Vaulx-En-Velin, but I have to help the team and the boss put me at left-back and it was not a problem.”
Confirming the fact he can also fill in at right-back, Zouma said: “I play mainly as a centre-back and I like the physical part of the game. I’m very good in the air, with a big leap, which I would say is probably my biggest quality. I can also play at right-back. I’ve played there occasionally.”
Other than facing a potential dilemma at right-back, Mourinho is expected to stay true to his word and find a place in his team for young midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the Villa game and will have striker Diego Costa available again from suspension.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the club’s players have publically backed Mourinho since the Southampton defeat, but he knows he cannot afford another embarrassing loss to relegation candidates Villa.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in contention for starting against Villa
Mourinho spent Monday night watching Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas in action for Spain in Ukraine, where Chelsea play Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League next week.
The fact the Portuguese appeared to attempt to disguise his appearance by wearing a hood has also resulted in speculation that he was watching transfer targets ahead of the January window.
Right-back Ivanovic was injured in Serbia’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania and had to withdraw from the squad for the next game against Portugal.
The defender has undergone tests at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and could be out for around three weeks, prompting Mourinho to consider his options ahead of Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The most obvious solution would be to bring in £21million summer signing Baba Rahman at left-back and move Cesar Azpilicueta to the right in place of Ivanovic.
But Chelsea manager Mourinho still has reservations over whether Rahman is ready to make his Premier League debut, having so far only appeared in the Champions League against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Walsall in the Capital One Cup.
When questioned why Rahman had not replaced the out-of-form Ivanovic for the Southampton game, which Chelsea lost 3-1, Mourinho said: “Baba Rahman arrived in the last day (of the transfer window) and he doesn’t know what it is to play in this kind of championship. He had no pre-season with us. He needs time to learn and adapt.
“At the same time, every team except Maccabi Tel Aviv is a team of giants. If you don’t have a minimum of five tall players good in the air, you are dead on set-pieces. When I play Azpilicueta on the right and Baba on the left, I have only three. So we have to think about all the details.”
Rahman has had extra time to try to prove he is capable of facing Villa after a mix-up over his visa meant the 21-year-old could not travel with Ghana to face Canada in Washington and, instead, remained at Cobham this week to train with his Chelsea team-mates.
Zouma is naturally a central defender and is already competing with captain John Terry and Gary Cahill for a place in the middle.
The Frenchman has previously proved his versatility by playing as a holding midfielder and has appeared at right-back earlier in his career, and at left-back for Chelsea during pre-season. His physical presence may be attractive to Mourinho for the Villa game, with Rudy Gestede posing the greatest threat for Tim Sherwood’s team in the air.
If Mourinho decides Rahman is not ready, Zouma could either directly replace Ivanovic on the right, or come in on the left and allow Azpilicueta to move over to the right.
Zouma played the final half-an-hour of Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against Barcelona at left-back and afterwards said: “It is a new position for me, I played there only one time when I was at Vaulx-En-Velin, but I have to help the team and the boss put me at left-back and it was not a problem.”
Confirming the fact he can also fill in at right-back, Zouma said: “I play mainly as a centre-back and I like the physical part of the game. I’m very good in the air, with a big leap, which I would say is probably my biggest quality. I can also play at right-back. I’ve played there occasionally.”
Other than facing a potential dilemma at right-back, Mourinho is expected to stay true to his word and find a place in his team for young midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the Villa game and will have striker Diego Costa available again from suspension.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the club’s players have publically backed Mourinho since the Southampton defeat, but he knows he cannot afford another embarrassing loss to relegation candidates Villa.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in contention for starting against Villa
Mourinho spent Monday night watching Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas in action for Spain in Ukraine, where Chelsea play Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League next week.
The fact the Portuguese appeared to attempt to disguise his appearance by wearing a hood has also resulted in speculation that he was watching transfer targets ahead of the January window.
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