Chelsea are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to West Ham United looking to end a run of two goalless draws.
Graham Potter’s side have been lacking creativity in their attacking play and were unable to get three points from a well-disciplined Fulham side, or Liverpool the weekend before.
However, the Blues could field an exciting new-look front three with Joao Felix expected to return to the squad after being sent off on his debut.
If the Portuguese star is combined with new boys Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke – with Kai Havertz potentially dropping out – the threatening line-up has the potential to do some real damage.
Sportsmail takes a look at how the front three line being available for the first time could bring fresh energy to the Stamford Bridge outfit and reignite their season.
Joao Felix, 23, Forward
Felix’s return will offer a much needed boost to the Chelsea team with the creative player expected to be in the squad for the trip to West Ham.
Chelsea signed the Portuguese international from Atletico Madrid, having paid £9million for the short-term loan.
His performances for Benfica, as an 18-year-old, sparked interest across the world as Felix recorded 15 goals and seven assists in his first year in the Portuguese top-flight.
Since making the move to Spain, Felix has scored 34 goals in 131 appearances.
It has been reported the move to Stamford Bridge would not include the option to buy Felix at the end of the season.
It has not been an ideal start to life at Chelsea for Felix, having been sent off after 57 minutes of his debut against Fulham.
After initially impressing, that sending off for a rash challenge has meant he’s had a watching brief from the stands in the win over Crystal Palace and the draws to Liverpool and Fulham.
If the attacker can adapt quickly to life in the Premier League and put his shaky start behind him, then Felix could be a dangerous player for Chelsea despite the expensive loan fee.
Mykhailo Mudryk, 22, Left Winger
Chelsea completed the £88million move for the left winger on a massive eight-and-a-half-year deal.
He was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates over the summer, and in September, it was reported that Mudryk was interested in moving to Arsenal.
Mudryk was born in Krashnohrad, Ukraine, on January 5, 2001, and he was part of the youth set-up at Shakhtar Donetsk from 2016, making his first senior appearance for the club two years later.
The 5ft 9in winger also had previous short-term loan spells at Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernihiv in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
He was named Shakhtar’s player of the year twice in a row in 2021 and 2022.
The winger has made 8 appearances for the Ukraine national side so far, since earning his first cap in May 2022.
Mudryk made his Chelsea debut a fortnight ago and impressed after coming off the bench in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
He used his blistering pace to add much-needed potency to Chelsea’s attack during the goalless encounter and Potter admitted he called on him earlier than planned.
Against Fulham, however, the pace merchant struggled to demonstrate just why the club paid so much for his services and was hooked at half-time by the Chelsea boss.
It hasn’t yet been revealed whether his untimely departure was injury or performance related, but judging by his first-half outing, the latter is more likely.
Mudryk caused Liverpool’s defence all sorts of problems last time out, against Fulham he was suffocated of space and was easily managed out of the game.
If he can use his pace to the advantage of Chelsea’s attack like he did against Liverpool, then Mudryk could be a real welcome to the Blues’ attacking football.
Noni Madueke, 20, Winger and Attacking Midfielder
Chelsea completed the signing of the winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, from PSV.
The 20-year-old has signed a seven-and-a-half year contract for £26million, with Chelsea having an option to extend the deal by a further year.
Madueke spent time in the youth systems at Crystal Palace and Spurs.
He took the jump to move to PSV at the age of 16 in 2018 – rejecting offers from Manchester United and Chelsea in the process.
He shone in Holland, refining his attacking instincts under the tutelage of PSV boss Ruud van Nistelrooy – scoring 20 goals and adding 14 assists in 80 games for the Dutch giants, having previously excelled for their reserve team – Jong PSV.
In fact, Van Nistelrooy was Madueke’s first coach at the club in the Under-19 side before the former Manchester United striker took charge of the senior team last year.
Madueke’s exploits, which also include four caps for England Under-21s – having previously represented the Three Lions at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 level – led him to making the exciting switch to Chelsea last month.
He is a player in a hurry, having moved to Holland to achieve his desire of playing first team football as quickly as possible and he has now found his way back to the top of the English game.
The winger made his debut for PSV when he was just 17 and shone in the Eredivisie while Madueke also helped his side to win the Dutch Cup last season – and he has featured in the Champions League.
Despite his immense talent and potential, he is a player who may not be that well-known by Chelsea supporters.
The big questions are over how Madueke will settle at Stamford Bridge and whether he will be able to feature enough as to not hinder his rapid development.
He made his debut in Friday night’s Premier League clash against Fulham.
He will be tasked with helping to ignite a stuttering Chelsea attack that has scored just 22 goals in 20 league games this season and one that has often lacked pace and creativity – two qualities Madueke possesses in abundance.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
