Chelsea aren’t known for their youth products, well apart from one or two signings, they mostly sign big name players to plug in the gaps, but one youngster might be on his way to fixing a long-term issue for the Blues.
Ola Aina has been one of the most impressive players for the London team in preseason and it could be a chance for Antonio Conte to promote him to the first team and who knows, even dispose of Branislav Ivanovic as the right-back for the team for years to come.
The 19-year-old has not made a single Premier League appearance for the Blues but this could be his season and with a good preseason to back him up, the sky seems to be the limit for the English footballer and here are three reasons why the youngster could be the solution for the right-back spot.
A pacy player down the flanks
One problem that Chelsea have had down the right flank or even the left one is the lack of pace and that is something that Aina has a ton of. The 19-year-old is one of the quickest players in the Chelsea team and he is known for bombing up and down the right flank and joining in attack.
This kind of play will be extremely crucial to the new look Chelsea side which Antonio Conte is managing and he does have more pace than Branislav Ivanovic. It does make sense to give him a start now and see how it goes; it certainly cannot go any worse than playing the Serbian in the side.
Branislav Ivanovic’s poor form
Speaking of the Serbian, Ivanovic had a horrendous season last time around for the Blues and maybe his time has come to say goodbye to the club. While that might be a little too drastic, what could work for the 19-year-old is that Ivanovic might be shifted to a central spot in the defence and that should allow Ola Aina to do his duties down the right.
Ivanovic might see a resurgence under Antonio Conte as the Italian manager is known for dealing with aging players but the former Juventus manager is also known to deal with young players and making them shift up a level or two.
The Serbian might have one last chance to do really well at Chelsea but it probably won’t be at right-back and with Aina continuing to impress, we see no reasons as to why he won’t play and perform for the Blues.
This is his time to shine
Form is everything for a player and since Aina is starring for the side at the moment, you cannot just drop him. Preseason might not be everything for a player but Aina’s form reminds many of Joe Gomez who had signed for Liverpool and replaced Alberto Moreno as the left-back even though that was not his preferred spot.
The 19-year-old Chelsea defender is still young but he seems to be doing extremely well. He was also part of the past two preseason tours of the club and this should cement his place in the team, if not the starting XI.
Antonio Conte will have a tough decision on his hands but all fingers point towards the fact that Aina should be the one to play as the right-back for now and also for the foreseeable future.