Things are going well for Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea so far, but it could reportedly get a little more complicated for the Italian tactician in January.
The Blues sit just two points adrift of the Premier League leaders, have advanced in the League Cup and have a perfect three wins in three record in the Europa League.
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With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Sarri has enjoyed a positive start and is getting the best out of the players at his disposal.
However, given his tendency to not rotate and rely heavily on his trusted individuals, it is seemingly leading to several fringe players being linked with an exit in January.
According to Calciomercato, the latest name to reportedly be considering a loan move elsewhere in the New Year is Davide Zappacosta, with the 26-year-old ultimately being used solely in the Europa League so far this season.
As outlined by Goal.com, he isn’t the only player who is said to be disappointed with a lack of playing time and therefore open to a move elsewhere, temporary or otherwise, with Victor Moses, Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Gary Cahill, Cesc Fabregas and Callum Hudson-Odoi all reportedly considering their options in January.
It’s a similar story for all involved as they have seemingly been used in Europe when Sarri does rotate, but in terms of being a fundamental part of his plans in the Premier League in particular, they are all falling short.
Nevertheless, the Chelsea boss will be desperate to avoid losing too much quality and depth in the middle of the season, as that could have a severely negative impact on their chances of winning trophies in the second half of the campaign.
With that in mind, he’ll perhaps have to find a better balance in the weeks ahead to avoid seeing the names above push for a January move elsewhere as it could end up being very costly to his hopes of enjoying a successful first season at Stamford Bridge.
Particularly with Loftus-Cheek’s impact in midweek coupled with the impressive performances by some of the other names in question, it could prove to be a difficult task.