Chelsea: One potential last dance for Marcos Alonso and Emerson

After the injury news of Ben Chilwell, either Marcos Alonso or Emerson will get one last dance on the field with Chelsea.

Since the start of the season, Chelsea has struggled with injured players, and the inconsistent performance of its backups. Amongst those are Marcos Alonso and Emerson. Once upon a time, these players were battling each other for a starting left back role under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and even Frank Lampard. Now, they will get one last dance before Lampard sends one of them out on loan, or for good.

Both players are unique as they each represents a particular aspect of the game a manager needs in their fullbacks. On one hand is Alonso, who lacks entirely in speed, provides control and alert decision making. This makes him a more conservative left back that only gets forward when possible. Despite that, he has a history of scoring goals, and proving accurate left-footed passes.

On the other side of things is Emerson, who possesses speed and directness. However, he lacks the defensive aspect required to play the position. He is an attack-minded left back who can become a threat for any opposition going forward. Although he is not known for scoring goals, he is capable of proving more width when attacking.

Nevertheless, neither has performed well in recent games. When given the chance, both have greatly disappointed in their respective roles. Neither of them is playing their particular style, thus not providing cover in the defense nor assisting in the attack. Alonso has made too many mistakes involving his positioning and lack of effort when it comes to simple defending. Emerson has failed to provide any support at either end of the pitch.

Now, with the news of Ben Chilwell’s knock, the Southampton match will likely be the last chance these two players get to secure a spot in the team. Make no mistake about it, this will be a substitute spot, as their starting days are all but gone. With Reece James dominating the right back position, and Cesar Azpilicueta more than capable of playing on either side while outperforming most defenders, Alonso and Emerson can only hope to come off the bench. In some cases—but very few—start in inferior FA/Carabao Cup games in upcoming seasons.

Holding onto two substitute left backs is rather unnecessary from Lampard’s point of view. He would only need one of the two players to provide relief for the starters. Keeping both will surely increase the depth of the squad, but one—or both players—will be unhappy sooner rather than later.

From the club’s point of view, not utilizing both Emerson and Alonso constantly means a devaluation of the player, plus expensive wages, to not even sit on the sideline. This will ultimately lead to a discounted sale and Chelsea has done well financially to not let these self-inflicted losses get in the way of the current progress. Therefore, a sale or loan of Emerson or Alonso will likely happen in the January transfer window.

Therefore, until Chilwell comes back from injury, both Alonso and Emerson will get one last chance on the field. Their performances will be criticized to the maximum exponent, but only for the better of the squad. Whomever comes out standing from this battle will receive that glorious place on the bench.