Eden Hazard is so confident in Chelsea’s current squad depth that he is already talking about resting players when the fixtures pile up.
Chelsea scrambled on transfer deadline day to make two signings they so desperately needed. However, the jury is still out on whether they did sufficient business to increase squad depth. Eden Hazard thinks the Blues now have a large enough squad to deal with the rigours of four competitions. He is even talking about resting players.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hazard expressed his confidence in Chelsea’s current charges.
"This year we have the Champions League as well and it is not easy to succeed in multiple competitions. But we will do our best and we have got depth in our squad so sometimes maybe one or two players can rest so they are 110 per cent for the next competition."
The Blues entered this campaign with a dangerously thin squad. Despite spending big on a few players, they also let a lot of talent leave permanently and on loan. Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses had no-one sitting behind them while Tiemoue Bakayoko, N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas were the only central midfielders.
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The addition of Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta somewhat eased depth concerns, but many are still unconvinced. When clubs have these many games on their schedule, they almost always suffer an injury crisis. It won’t just be one player sitting out, but multiple. Playing twice a week increases the strain on the squad and the team could very well crash and burn.
After all, Alonso still doesn’t have competition for his position while goals up front may become an issue if Alvaro Morata gets hurt; Michy Batshuayi has been poor. Furthermore, Willian, Pedro and Eden Hazard are the only proper wingers. Again fitness issues could wreak havoc there.
Hazard, though, does not seem concerned at all. In some ways, his confidence is refreshing at a time when all Chelsea press is inherently negative. Many articles and columns, such as this one, are focusing on what could go wrong, instead of what could go right. Hence, it is encouraging to see internal faith bubbling away.
Nevertheless, the concerns are very real. Where do you stand on the issue? Is Chelsea’s squad now deep enough? Will Antonio Conte be able to rest players? Let us know in the poll below!
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On paper, Chelsea could rotate players around. However, Conte will rarely have his full complement of players available. Share your thoughts in the comments!