Bold predictions for Chelsea and the Premier League in 2021/22

9. What will be the wackiest personnel decision made by Thomas Tuchel?

Abhishek: Taking the ‘build from the back’ approach to the next level, Thomas Tuchel will deploy Romelu Lukaku as a centerback. The striker will be tasked with receiving the ball from the goalkeeper, charging straight through the midfield, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake as bodies go flying in all directions, and smashing the ball in the bottom corner, with the goalkeeper hitting the back of the net before the ball does.

Anthony: Christian Pulisic at left wingback. With so much competition in the attack for Chelsea, I believe Tuchel will try and get Pulisic to play wingback for some games and ensure him regular playing time.

Akshat: Reece James at attacking midfielder. Tough guy James absorbing challenges high up the pitch, spraying passes forward to Lukaku and Co. while stinging goalkeepers’ gloves, flashing his mint Champions League tattoo—he’s everywhere! As the attacking midfield variant of James shrugs off Harry Maguire, the centerback falls to the floor, catches a glimpse of the pile-driver, which takes the roof off David de Gea’s net, and the keeper says to himself “I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Barrett: I actually don’t think anyone will play anywhere wildly out of position because we have enough good options. Maybe the Callum Hudson-Odoi left wingback situation could be, but he’d be doing it to try and have him as a left winger, which is CHO’s best position. I also like the idea of Reece James in the right DM position with Azpi behind him and CHO to his right.

Daniel: Mason Mount at wingback. Tuchel will justify it with Mount’s energy and work rate. Tuchel will play the Englishman at wingback to accommodate for some of the other attacking players.

Gabe: Marcos Alonso at striker. I can dream, right? Let’s try to speak this one into existence.

Kevin: Let’s face it, Danny Drinkwater is going nowhere. If Tuchel plays him at all, he’ll be out of his usual position in the players lounge or, he could try Drinkwater and Ross Barkley in a double pivot, whatever the hell that means.

Leighton: I think Tuchel will play Kai Havertz at centerback the back end of a game for his height and to defend set-pieces off opponents.

Mike: Tuchel’s past team selections do not suggest that he is a tinkerer in the mold of Pep Guardiola or Claudio Ranieri, but there are bound to be some head-scratchers over the course of this season. Playing either Pulisic or Ziyech at wingback would be disastrous in my opinion, seeing as neither of them offer much defensively, but any injuries to players that normally occupy those positions could force one of the more attacking wingers to step in.

Nate: Marcos Alonso at striker.  Alonso has always been a striker at heart. Hopefully a free-thinking artist like Tuchel will finally employ Alonso up top like God always intended.

Olaoluwa: Trevoh Chalobah at right wingback. Yes, the Blues have Cesar Azpilicueta, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James. However, there will come a time when Chelsea, due to accumulation of games, will have to rest Azpilicueta, pushing Reece James to right centerback. In one of Tuchel’s unpredictable team selections, where we expect to see Jules Kounde at right wingback, boom, Chalobah comes in and bosses it.

Olly: Marcos Alonso as a striker. The worst left back Chelsea has in the squad right now, defensively a massive liability but boy oh boy, what a finisher this man is. Alonso actually used to be striker when he was younger before a manager turned him into a left back (apparently . . .my Spanish is a little rusty). Tuchel will see he has nothing to offer defensively (like every other manager has seen) but his height, finishing and “back-post-sneak” are unrivalled. Tuchel makes this change and Alonso becomes the club’s top scorer.

Travis: It’s not totally off the wall to see Mason Mount play in the pivot, but people will be surprised with how often it happens at first. He played there a few times last season and it never looked great, but the attacking bottleneck may be alleviated by Mount going deeper more often than not.

Yi Hao: Ruben Loftus-Cheek at striker. Loftus-Cheek could yet stick around and serve as an auxiliary striker/false nine and step onto the pitch in place of Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner or Kai Havertz in games of lesser importance.

Vansh: Pulisic at LWB. To be honest, Pulisic seems to be behind in the pecking order at the moment and accomodating him at LWB might be a smart way of giving him some crucial minutes.

Varun: Marcus Bettinelli in general. Tuchel will controversially play Bettinelli on the field, as opposed to his universally accepted position on the bench.