Chelsea FC: Is Christian Atsu In Jose Mourinho’s Plans?

For roughly 80 minutes yesterday (oddly the amount of time he played), I was ready to write this column.  I couldn’t wait to detail how well Christian Atsu had played on the right side for Ghana.

Then, in the 82nd minute, I pushed the column aside as Andre Ayew took a beautiful pass from Asamoah Gyan and put one past Tim Howard, leaving me in no mood to write about positive words about the Ghana Midfielder.  I couldn’t bring myself to sit at my desk and say nice things about anyone from Ghana.

Well, you know what happened next!

Christian Atsu joined Chelsea in 2013 after a successful spell at F.C. Porto.  He signed a 5 year contract and, like many Chelsea youngsters, he was immediately loaned to the Dutch side Vitesse where he made 28 appearances for the Club.

Yesterday, we saw why Chelsea invested in the young midfielder.  He was such a thorn in the US’s side that DaMarcus Beasley became a trending topic on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.  The running, the passing, and the shots (4, second most on the team) were all on display.   He was a force and the USMNT had few answers for him and I was relieved when Ghana subbed him out for Albert Adomah.

More from Chelsea FC News

• Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
• Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
• Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
• Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
• These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea

Yet, for all the promise he showed yesterday, one can’t help  but wonder when he’ll see the field for Chelsea.  Top to bottom, Chelsea is deepest team in the world in terms of attacking midfielders and many of them younger than Atsu.  Think of it this way, if we count merely the Chelsea players who were on loan in 2013-2014 , Atsu will be competing for spots with

Bertrand Traoré, Thorgan Hazard, and 

What are the plans for Atsu going forward?  José Mourinho certainly has a ton of options at his disposal and it will be interesting to see if Atsu is in his plans.