Man Utd’s Manuel Ugarte in doubt to face Brentford after suffering knock vs Ecuador
The nature of his injury remains unclear, but it raises concerns over his availability for Saturday’s clash at Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old Italian has already made quite the impact on his new teammates.
Chelsea’s latest recruit, Jorginho, may have played only 45 minutes for the Blues so far, but if you take Marcos Alonso’s word, the Brazilian-born Italian midfielder’s made quite the impact and is primed to take the Premier League by storm.
“He looks very good,” Alonso was quoted as saying by the club website.
Jorginho, a £57 million signing, started Chelsea’s first pre-season tie on Monday against Perth Glory FC and had everyone watching raving about his performance.
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While he was hooked at half-time by new coach Maurizio Sarri, Bleus fans were already raving about the midfielder’s displays and haven’t settled down since then.
Under Sarri’s predecessor, Antonio Conte, the West Londoners played a 3-4-3 formation but now the Premier League giants have switched to a 4-3-3 system.
And while it will take time for the players to adjust, Alonso feels Jorginho will help the squad adapt faster due to the fact he and the coach were together at Napoli.
“He is used to playing this way, and he is going to be a great help for everybody. He is giving us tips to get used to this way of playing. He moves very well on the pitch, he plays with confidence, and since day one he has looked good.”
Alonso has also enjoyed working under Sarri and looks set to revert to left-back in a four-man defence. The different formation and philosophy presents a challenge to the players but also excitement at what is to come.
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Pundit and fans have already claimed that Alonso will struggle to play in the four-man defence after two seasons of playing as a wing-back, but the Spaniard is firmly of the belief that that the new formation will benefit the team.
“We are working on a new formation, a new style that he is asking of us. He wants us to press high, he wants the team to be together, to have possession of the ball. For a week we have been training very hard and trying to learn new things.”
Chelsea next take on Inter Milan on Saturday in Nice. They open their 2017/18 Premier League campaign with an away clash at Huddersfield Town on August 11.
“We are having fun. The atmosphere in the changing room is very good. The mood is fantastic and we are working very well,”the left-back added.
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