CHELSEA BOSS Maurizio Sarri has played a masterstroke by bringing Blues legend Gianfranco Zola with him to the club.
That’s the verdict of former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood who is backing the duo to get the best out of Alvaro Morata.
Sarri has a dilemma on his hands in deciding which striker to lead his forward line against Arsenal later today (5.30pm).
Morata started Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Huddersfield but faces intense competition from former Gunner Olivier Giroud.
Sherwood thinks the World Cup winner is perhaps the best option in the current Stamford Bridge climate.
But the pundit is also backing Sarri and Zola to combine to bring Morata’s talents to the fore further down the line.
“You need to make [Morata] feel like the main man,” he told The Debate on Sky Sports. “How long do you do it for?
“You can’t relinquish points and Chelsea can’t lose ground on the leaders when you’ve got someone who is a World Cup winner in Olivier Giroud sat on the sidelines, who has been a proven goalscorer at Arsenal.
“He’s a player who can come off the bench and score as well, he affects the game. I think he’s their main threat.
“If you asked the number 10s around him, like Hazard and Willian, they probably play better with him than Morata at the moment.
“But it’s for Sarri to get the best out of him, and maybe that’ll be what he’s good at.”
Morata struggled with injury and poor form last season after a bright start to his Chelsea career.
And Sherwood believes Zola can give the Spaniard the confidence and belief to get him firing on all cylinders.
“He won’t give up on him,” he continued. “But it’s how long he gives it and he’s got someone in there like Gianfranco Zola who can help with that transition as well.
“They’ll be in and around him. He’s one of the best players we’ve ever seen in the Premier League, and bringing him back was a masterstroke.
“Morata has a history of playing at the top level and scoring goals; he just needs time to click in the Premier League.
“The manager will be telling him things have changed now, we’ll play to your strengths and we need you to score. And if he does, he could go on to have a good season.”