James, Josh & Malo may sound like a London solicitors’ firm but in reality, they were Chelsea’s hat-trick of options at right back last season. Who started? Who knew?
Could be Reece James, possibly Josh Acheampong, maybe Malo Gusto. Manager Enzo Maresca even played a pair of centre backs in Wesley Fofana and Axel Disasi out of position on occasion, as if he delighted in gaslighting opposition analysts and those of us who file weekly predicted XIs.
Until Chelsea submitted their team sheet to the Premier League 75 minutes prior to kick-off, we were all playing his guessing game, unable to say for sure who would be used and where.
It was different on the other side of Maresca’s defence, however. There it was a lonely story involving Marc Cucurella. The 27-year-old Spaniard was Chelsea’s only natural left back, hence why he finished 2024-25 with 5,000 minutes played for club and country.
That was more than any of his team-mates and he managed 2,989 of those in the league — pretty much as many as James, Acheampong and Gusto combined.
Now, Cucurella has cover arriving in Jorrel Hato from Ajax after the two clubs agreed a £37million deal. Denunciations of stockpiling be damned. Sources at Chelsea say they want to provide Maresca with enough squad depth to rotate across all areas of the team. With Hato on board, that is looking like at least two players per position.
Chelsea are making their line-up the hardest to predict in football due to their rotation
New signing Jorrel Hato will give Marc Cucurella competition at left-back – and make the side even harder to guess
Enzo Maresca is described as a ‘master of rotation’ by a Stamford Bridge insider
Hato was identified for his potential, first and foremost. Chelsea tracked him throughout last season when Mail Sport first reported on their interest in this teenager.
He is a 19-year-old Netherlands international with six caps. He was Ajax’s youngest ever captain at 17 and has already made more than 100 senior appearances. He is a skilled player who can move inside and is used to playing for a team who control possession. He can play at centre back, though Chelsea primarily see him as a left back competing with Cucurella.
Chelsea made 419 changes to their starting line-ups under Maresca last season — more than any other club in Europe’s top leagues.
Hato is set to further complicate those Monday morning briefings between analysts and managers.
He may take time to adapt, but the message is: good luck predicting which players will be used by Maresca and where from now on.
Cole Palmer was primarily used as a No 10 last season, but Maresca deployed him on the right wing in their Club World Cup triumph over Paris Saint-Germain last month.
A Stamford Bridge insider described Maresca as a ‘master of rotation’, adding the 45-year-old Italian does not have a best XI, and nor does he desire one. He wants the best squad. He picks his teams based on a tactical plan, the opposition, training and playing load.
When Chelsea beat Djurgardens 4-1 in their Conference League semi-final first leg, for example, they arrived back in London at 4am on the Friday morning. They then beat Liverpool 3-1 in the league on the Sunday, with Maresca making eight changes. Cucurella was one of those who survived the rotation in a needs-must situation.
Cucurella was the only predictable element of Chelsea’s selection, racking up 5,000 minuted for club and country
Cole Palmer was typically a number 10 but played on the right wing against PSG in te Club World Cup final
Chelsea have strengthened significantly this summer – Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian has arrived from Palmeiras
This summer was identified as a time to strengthen in order to compete in what is being described as a ‘dual season’ for the club in England and Europe. They do not simply want to have retuned to the Champions League. They want to compete.
Once Hato has signed, he will join other recruits such as Liam Delap (£30m), Joao Pedro (£55m) and Jamie Gittens (£48.5m). The Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian has also arrived from Palmeiras. RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons remains a target, as does Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho.
Chelsea are set to enter into a minuscule pre-season with the players due back this week to prepare for friendlies with Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.
They could yet receive offers for Nicolas Jackson, though Maresca is currently planning to have him compete with Delap as a striker — again, options — while leaning on Joao Pedro’s versatility across the attack.
The choices available to Maresca were already as rich as any manager’s in the top flight — and even more now Hato is on the way.
