It is looking more likely than not that Philippe Coutinho will come to Chelsea. He will make squad rotation and selection a tricky beast.
At one end of the spectrum, there are clubs that buy a player of high quality and can put him right into the starting XI with no issues. On the other end are clubs that are packed with high quality players from XI to bench and there are no issues. Chelsea is one of those clubs stuck in the awkward middle ground.
Chelsea can buy high quality players, but it will block off others in the squad somewhat unfairly. The Blues also are not to the point where they can bring in any high quality player and have the current ones accept their new battle. Philippe Coutinho is that tipping point.
The rumors are reaching critical mass and he is too big of a name not to go into the starting XI. But that will leave someone unfairly short charged. Chelsea will need to juggle that issue so they can go from the club that puts him right into the XI with no issues to the one that can have big squad battles throughout.
The primary question will be where Coutinho slots in. Chelsea generally plays a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 under Frank Lampard, which leaves somewhere around four potential spots that the Brazilian can play in: left wing, right wing, attacking mid, and center mid.
That versatility is not a problem in of itself, but the issue is that Chelsea is packed with players in the same boat. Even with Willian and Pedro sure to leave, Chelsea still has Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Hakim Ziyech. That is just players at the club this season or expected to be next season.
Especially with Ziyech likely going straight into the XI, who is getting cut out? Will Mount and Hudson-Odoi suddenly find themselves fighting for playing time? Will Pulisic drop to the bench again causing Americans to lose their minds after just a game or two without him playing? Will it spell the end for Barkley or, depending on his return from injury, Loftus-Cheek?
Lampard’s rotation has not been quite what was expected this season, so to add not only Ziyech but also the possibility of Coutinho might make some players start to question their place at the club. Barkley seems like the easiest one to make way, but he has hardly played enough this season for that to be a starting XI spot. It would seem harsh for Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, or Mount to find themselves in the starting XI and then dropping to the bench.
The same issues would have likely have happened with Jadon Sancho coming to Chelsea. Coutinho seems to exclude that possibility, but at least with Sancho Chelsea would have had a lot of time and promise on their side. Coutinho is already 27, is not really a tactical fit for Lampard’s style, and his last good season was arguably the one at Liverpool. It is a head scratching rumor considering what it may cost in the locker room.
Still, Chelsea seems to be forging ahead with this notion. Someone, somewhere, will have to make way. And then it will be up to Lampard to juggle his squad selection enough to keep everyone happy with their lot in the team.