Enzo Fernandez confirms he will operate slightly higher for Chelsea compared to last season
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has revealed that he is preparing to play in a slightly advanced midfield role for the season that starts on Sunday for the Blues.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men begin their campaign with a tough game against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Wherever Fernandez is playing in that match, he has to be at his best.
After arriving from Benfica in January, the Argentina international played the majority of the games as a single defensive midfielder. He now feels that under Pochettino, the system will change to a double-pivot midfield with him having the license to move forward.
Here’s what the midfielder said about this situation and the season coming up (h/t ESPN Argentina, Daily Mail):
“We talked a little bit about everything, where I felt most comfortable, everything.
“The truth is that yes, I like to play loose, and the function that I am going to fulfill this year is going to be that, playing double five but a little looser, trying not to have the responsibility I had last season, playing five alone.
“Now, with a five more next to me, obviously I will have much more freedom, but without detracting from the position, in the sense that I also have to defend, we have to help the team in that way.”
The thing with Fernandez is that it did feel a bit awkward that he almost was asked to operate as a solo defensive midfielder whose primary job is to destroy opposition attacks and play simple passes for more technical players in the team to create chances or score goals.
While the 22-year-old mostly has no issues in doing that, he can be physically found out in the Premier League. Moreover, he is technically a fantastic player who should be playing a bit closer to the opposition’s final third than his own.
Pochettino’s go-to system is 4-2-3-1 with two semi-holding midfielders who can take turns to make forward runs with communication that the other one is holding ground to protect the back line in transition.
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For that reason it always felt right that Chelsea sign Moises Caicedo and put him beside Fernandez. As much as the deal is tough with Brighton, getting the Ecuador international would not only fill an important position in the squad, but also free up the best midfielder in the playing XI regularly.