Chelsea may have made it to the quarter-finals of the ongoing Club World Cup, but the win has come at a cost.
Influential midfielder Moises Caicedo picked up a booking in the previous round of the competition and has been banned for the Blues’ upcoming game against Palmeiras.
The Ecuadorian midfielder’s absence has left Enzo Mareca with a selection headache of who to pick as his replacement for the crucial game.
While fans may clamour to give Andrey Santos a game, Dario Essugo seems like a natural replacement for Caicedo.
The youngster is known to share similar attributes to his senior counterpart and could be a natural replacement for Caicedo.
Essugo also seems like he would be an able partner for Romeo Lavia in the heart of midfield for Chelsea.
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Maresca is known to be a fan of Essugo and has allowed him to make two substitute appearances at the tournament so far.
Maresca said he has a ‘good feeling’ about Essugo, although starting a game is a different challenge, and Chelsea will be keeping in mind their struggles last time they took to the field against a side from Brazil.
They were defeated by Flamengo in a game where Caicedo and Fernandez struggled to dictate the play, and they will need the story to be different if they are to book their place in the semi-finals.
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