Chelsea is not exactly facing a roster crunch, but that does not mean Frank Lampard cannot save space with the versatile Andreas Christensen and David Luiz.
The cull is coming to the Chelsea squad to ensure it meets all of the home grown criteria. It is also important to have a variety of players to create a flexible squad. At some point on every depth chart, a player “out of position” is looked at for a role. This usually happens around the third or fourth player on the depth chart.
Andreas Christensen and David Luiz are both center backs by trade but they have also spent minutes playing elsewhere. The Dane frequently plays as a holding midfielder for his national team. The Brazilian has long been thought of as a potential solution to midfield though it has been a rarely used tool (albeit, an effective one when it has been used).
Chelsea has quite a few players who have impressed this preseason but who are right on the edge of the roster. If Christensen, Luiz, or both were used to double up on the depth chart, it might make room for another player to stay at Chelsea this season.
One player who could benefit from this is Davide Zappacosta. Reece James recently had surgery for the injury that has kept him out of preseason. Even when he is fit enough to train again, it will be some time before he is match fit. Though the spot will likely come down to Zappacosta or James, it could be very beneficial to keep both around at least until January.
Kenedy could also benefit for a similar reason. He has played a lot this preseason and has looked mostly good enough to make the fringe of the squad. With Callum Hudson-Odoi far from fitness, it would be good to save a roster spot by doubling up Christensen or Luiz to make room for Kenedy. That would allow Chelsea the depth they need until Hudson-Odoi is fit enough to play again.
Of course, such a doubling up would not benefit every player on the squad. Danny Drinkwater or Tiemoue Bakayoko would lose a squad spot because of the doubling up. As it stands, Chelsea has N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Mateo Kovacic for the midfield pivot. Drinkwater or Bakayoko could fill that fourth spot or it could simply be Christensen or Luiz. That would also take some pressure off of Billy Gilmour who could be due for more minutes this season.
Either Christensen or Luiz could do the role in reserve as well. Christensen is far more of a center back but he can get the job done if need be. Luiz always felt more like a midfielder trapped in the defensive line and pushing him forward in games may help to minimize some of his more common mistakes (such as rushing out of the defensive line to press or running forward without considering if it is a good time or not).
Frank Lampard can use doubling up like this to keep other players around and plug other holes in the squad. It would not necessarily be for the big games, but it is a good card to have in the deck just in case.