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Tuesday evening saw just a second start in Chelsea colours for new signing Jamie Gittens, but the winger failed to grasp the opportunity at Lincoln City.
It was by no means a dreadful performance from the 21-year-old wide man but one where he drifted in and out of the game. Enzo Maresca made the decision to take the former Borussia Dortmund winger off at around the 70-minute mark as Pedro Neto injected some much-needed freshness into the Blues' attacking play.
Signed for a total package, including add-ons, of around £55million over the summer, Gittens is yet to really get going at Stamford Bridge. Thus far, Gittens has appeared five times for the Blues, with three of them being from the start, and has clocked just over 200 minutes to his name.
Maresca was quick to point out post-match that some of the players that featured in Lincoln were getting their first taste of what those sort of cup ties can be like. The Chelsea head coach actually namechecked Gittens when doing so: "We prepared the game thinking exactly in the way it was in the first-half, and sometimes it is not about desire, it is about winning the second ball, but it is also about experience.
"Jamie Gittens has never played against League One [teams], these kinds of games. Jorrel [Hato] never played this kind of game. This kind of game, you have to play in a different way, you have to play in a different way. It’s more about desire, and we struggled in the first-half.”
Gittens will be better off with that experience now under his belt, but there are concerns from some supporters online about what they have seen from the England Under-21 international thus far. These are very much early days for Gittens, so this is in no way writing him off, but he has not given Maresca a lot of encouragement thus far as he faces a bit of a selection dilemma on the left wing.
In recent matches, the Italian has used Neto out there, and while the Portugal international is constantly a threat whenever he is on the pitch, Chelsea do lose a lot with him on the left in comparison to the right-hand side.
Alejandro Garnacho, who made his first start for Chelsea in the win in Lincolnshire, is also an option for Maresca on the wide left. The Argentine, however, is not yet at 100% fitness after not really having a pre-season campaign while at Manchester United.
Joao Pedro is also an option out there but given Chelsea’s lack of striker options, the Brazilian is needed as the focal point in attack. One of Gittens and Garnacho needs to step up in the near future and considering the latter is a little bit behind with his fitness levels, there is perhaps more of an expectation for the former to be the one who does.
It will be interesting to see how Maresca shapes his side up this weekend as Brighton come to Stamford Bridge. Cole Palmer-dependent, of course, with the Chelsea head coach set to give a fitness update on the 23-year-old when he takes his pre-match press conference on Friday.
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Facundo Buonanotte impressed on Tuesday night, scoring his first goal for the club, but is unavailable on Saturday afternoon as the Blues take on the loanee’s parent club Brighton. There could be a world where Joao Pedro drops back into the No.10 role but that would require Marc Guiu to be fit, with Maresca revealing on Tuesday that the Spanish striker felt a knock building up to the Lincoln tie.
"The reason why [Guiu was not in the squad] is because yesterday in the game preparation he felt something," the Chelsea head coach explained. "Nothing important. But with Liam Delap already out, we did not want to take a risk."
There is one thing Guiu being fit enough, but it is another thing to see if he is trusted by Maresca yet.
Since being recalled from his loan spell at Sunderland, which lasted just 26 days, the 19-year-old is yet to play a single minute for the Blues. In fact, he has only been in the matchday squad for two of the four matches Chelsea have played since returning.
Last season, Guiu featured 16 times in all competitions, scoring six goals in the process, but only three of those appearances came in the Premier League. Given the situation with his attacking options at the moment, there is a real case for Guiu to start on Saturday.
Maresca, though, might stick with Tyrique George as the false nine. The 19-year-old, who is naturally a winger, took a while to get going in Lincoln but once he did, he produced a fine second-half performance. George scored the leveller for the Blues with a thunderous strike from around 30 yards and moments later, the Cobham graduate set up Buonanotte for what turned out to be the winning goal of the tie.
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