Pochettino must now change the position of ‘outstanding’ Chelsea man after what happened on Sunday – opinion
Mauricio Pochettino’s already thin first team squad saw another casualty added to the list on Sunday against Aston Villa.
However, this time injuries cannot be blamed as Malo Gusto will now face a ban following his red card for a strong challenge on Lucas Digne.
The Frenchman has been deputising for injured club captain Reece James, who played one game before picking up an issue in training.
Pochettino seemed to be impressed by Gusto in the position, and had started him in every game since James’ departure from the first team.
Now though, the Argentine is forced to really look elsewhere for the coming games as he looks to solve the issue of having no real recognised right-back in the squad.
He may look to Axel Disasi, who has featured there before, to play the role as a more defensive option, with Ben Chilwell able to cover the ground in the attacking sense.
With the departure of the ever-present Frenchman from the middle of defence, it provides the perfect opportunity for Levi Colwill to finally feature in his favoured centre-back role.
There was so much excitement over the summer when Colwill committed his future to Stamford Bridge instead of pushing for a move to Brighton or Liverpool.
He has previously been described as ‘outstanding’ by international manager Gareth Southgate, however the use of him this season has baffled many.
The Englishman has been deployed at left-back for the majority of the campaign, and although he has featured there before he certainly seems as if he would be more comfortable in the middle.
With Benoit Badiashile approaching a return from injury, there is potential for a serious partnership to be formed at the back if Pochettino puts faith in it.