After a few games of experimenting with Christopher Nkunku as his false nine, Enzo Maresca seems to have stumbled on a player much more suited for that role in Pedro Neto. The winger has led the line for the Blues in the last two matches and has been excellent, with a goal and two assists against Aston Villa and Southampton.
Neto has traditionally been a winger at Chelsea and at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he made his name but he has looked great as a center forward. He has different physical attributes than Nkunku and Cole Palmer who were both played up top but both looked out of place.
The Portuguese star is enjoying his new role and said as much to the official Chelsea sitePer in a post-Southampton victory interview. Neto joked that he is enjoying the role of playing at forward because he does not have to track back as much for defensive duties that he gets tasked with as a winger.
Neto said of the new role:
"Wherever the manager needs me, I’m happy to do my best for the team. Playing further forward and centrally means I have more energy for running forward and trying to get behind the defence with my pace. It’s good for me because it’s almost like I have a free role. I can receive the ball into feet, or I can go in behind, so it gives us options."Pedro Neto on his new role
With Nicolas Jackson not due back until after the March international break and Marc Guiu not due back until mid to late March, we can expect Neto to continue to hold down the fort at that center forward position against Copenhagen and Leicester City. Perhaps Jackson could return for the second leg against the Danish club in the UEFA Conference League but Maresca may not want to rush him back from a soft tissue injury.
Even when Jackson returns, Neto’s ability to play at center forward and threaten defenses with his speed gives Chelsea and Maresca another option in attack. It’s not often that teams will leave much room in behind when playing Chelsea but he could exploit them on the counter if they are chasing a goal.
This also opens up another spot in midfield for Nkunku to make an impact as he has done better when dropping deep versus leading the line. The Frenchman is a creative player with great technical ability but is not the most physical or pacey. Playing deeper allows him to create dangerous opportunities for others as he did for Neto against Southampton and he can do the same in the next few fixtures.
You can never have too many options at key positions in football and sometimes even an experienced manager can make discoveries like this out of desperation. Neto was pressed into duty as a center forward and has grasped the opportunity to make a difference for his team with both hands. This is exactly what Chelsea needed to overcome a difficult stretch with all the injuries at the club.