Chelsea: Charly Musonda’s performance at Brighton hints at fluid role

Charly Musonda needed only eight minutes against Brighton to put himself on a Premier League scoresheet for the first time, with an assist to Victor Moses. His short appearance showed his progress developing into the swing player of Chelsea’s midfield and front-line.

Charly Musonda had 11 touches and eight passes as Chelsea’s third substitute against Brighton on Saturday. Even though most of his involvement with the first team so far as been as a winger, against Brighton he took on a more fluid role. Most of his Musonda’s actions against Brighton came from dropping deep into midfield to take the ball out from Chelsea’s defenders and link play to the forwards.

Musonda has played on both wings and as an attacking midfielder with Chelsea’s academy. This combination sets him up well to expand upon the role Willian and Pedro currently hold, and to provide depth once Ross Barkley enters the squad.

Since the later stages of last season, Antonio Conte’s preferred variation of the 3-4-3 drops Willian or Pedro into the midfield line, particularly late in games. The Blues would be in a 3-5-2 transitioning into defence, and would form into the 3-4-3 when firmly on offence. Willian or Pedro would normally drop closer to the wing-backs than the centre of the pitch, buttressing the flank. This helped Chelsea see out games by slowing down the opposition’s movement through midfield and giving the Blues another route to move the ball out of danger.

Musonda took on a similar role, although he played a bit further inside than Willian would on the right. This may be a matter of his short time on the pitch as much as tactical or personal preference. However, his most memorable moment – the pass to Victor Moses – came because he dashed across the pitch as the throw-in was inbound. His one touch on the left side turned into his assist.

Must Read: Willy Caballero's controlled chaos vital in Chelsea win

Chelsea have not been able to move as fluidly between the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 as Antonio Conte would want, in part because they do not have a player who can play both sides of this swing role equally well. Pedro and Willian are serviceable dropping into midfield. But none of the current batch of midfielders are adept at coming into the front line and being a third forward.

This short-coming was likely a major factor in Chelsea buying Ross Barkley. Barkley’s best times at Everton came as a central attacking midfielder playing just behind the forward line in transition and then up front on the attack. A similar role at Chelsea would have him drop deep to collect the ball, power it up the field, lay it off to a wing-back or winger and then join the front line on the opposite side from Eden Hazard.

Given Antonio Conte’s preference to have two players at every position, Musonda will be Barkley’s depth in the hybrid central attacking midfielder / winger role. Given Musonda’s size and experience relative to Barkley, the Belgian will likely see only late substitutions for the remainder of the season. The Blues are at the point in the FA Cup where most remaining opponents will be from the Premier League, and Conte will have no appetite to start Musonda in the Premier League or Champions League with Barkley and the wingers available.

But Musonda will be a worthwhile substitute to introduce fresh, agile legs to replace Barkley or even Eden Hazard for the final 20 minutes of a game. In that latter case, either Barkley or Musonda would move up as the “full-time” winger alongside the striker, and would facilitate a 5-4-1 on defence.

Next: Reliance on foreign transfers makes homegrown rule an issue

This “chameleon” of the 3-4-3 / 3-5-2 is also about transitioning Chelsea into the post-Willian and post-Pedro era. Both players are reaching the age where they will see fewer and fewer minutes until transferring out. Ross Barkley and Charly Musonda support the new version as much as Pedro and Willian supported the old – another case of Antonio Conte finding the best suit.