David Luiz’ red card has created a lot of problems for Antonio Conte, with the Brazilian defender now banned for three games for the nasty lunge.
One of these issues is who to replace the Brazilian with. Gary Cahill has returned to the team and will take up his position on the left of a back three, with Cesar Azpilicueta continuing on the right. But who will replace Luiz in the central role, which has so much responsibility.
Antonio Rudiger is the obvious choice, but youngster Andreas Christensen is also in the frame, and given Conte’s quotes after the game, he trusts the Dane to step up to the challenge once again.
“Yes. Christensen is a very young player but I think he is a good player and I trust him,” the manager is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.
Given Chelsea’s next game is in the cup, expect to see the young Dane feature from the start with the chance to prove that he is the superior choice to replace the classy on the ball ability of Luiz. Whether he can do enough against Nottingham Forest to show that he deserves to play ahead of Rudiger against Manchester City in a few weeks is another matter entirely.
