Chelsea may have downgraded in one position over the summer despite spending £55million on a ‘talented’ player.
That is the opinion of Liverpool star Danny Murphy after watching the Blues’ impressive 5-1 thrashing of West Ham last Friday.
In a much-improved performance from their Premier League opener at Crystal Palace, the Club World Cup champions looked back to their best, with summer signings Estevao and Joao Pedro catching the eye.
However, not every new star has come flying out of the traps, like Jamie Gittens who has joined from Borussia Dortmund in a much-hyped £55m transfer.
The winger started the goalless draw against Palace but was hauled off after just 54 minutes for Estevao and subsequently benched for the West Ham clash.
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And when Cole Palmer was injured in the warm-up, it was Estevao whom Enzo Maresca put into the starting XI, with Gittens only coming on in the 77th minute when the game was already done and dusted.
One of the most highly-rated young English talents in the game right now, big things are expected of the 21-year-old who effectively replaced Noni Madueke in the Chelsea squad after he moved to Arsenal for £52m.
Some believe the small loss is worth it, but Murphy doesn’t think Gittens is currently superior to Madueke, nor will he be in the future.
‘It will be interesting with Gittens to see how he does,’ the former midfielder said on talkSPORT.
‘They paid the same money for him as they got for Madueke. My gut feeling is that Madueke has probably got a bit more.
‘He might prove me wrong; we’ll have to wait and see. Both talented players, of course.
‘I would have understood it more if they got more for Madueke and bought him [Gittens] for less, thinking he can become better. I don’t see that one personally.’
Gittens’ next chance to impress will come on Saturday when they host west London rivals Fulham in the early kick-off.
Maresca has said that the England U21 star is among a trio of players who need time to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League, saying: ‘Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Estevao, Jamie Gittens are all fantastic players.
‘You can see that Liam and probably Joao are a little bit more ahead of the rest, but the reason why is that they were already here in England.
‘Jamie needs to adapt a little bit, Estevao needs to adapt, Jorrel Hato, as well, needs time to adapt. But overall, we are very happy with all of them.’
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