Ferdinand Calls On Chelsea To Drop Havertz After Dortmund Display As He Names His Potential Replacement

Ferdinand Calls On Chelsea To Drop Havertz After Dortmund Display As He Names His Potential Replacement

BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea manager Graham Potter should consider playing Joao Felix as a “false nine”.

The Blues struggled in front of goal once again in the 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund and Ferdinand thinks it may be time to drop Kai Havertz and try something different:

“I think you’ve got someone like Joao Felix, he might be someone you could look at in that false-nine position. He’s the most creative player in the Chelsea team now. He’s only been here a short amount of time. He looks like their player now who’s the go-to guy. He may be the one you push in a more forward role.”

It should be pointed out that Felix missed two gilt-edged opportunities on Wednesday evening himself, which doesn’t bode well for him starting up top on his own.

There is no doubt that the Portuguese international could play as a false nine, but it’s hard to see how it would solve Chelsea’s goalscoring problems.

Felix looks dangerous playing in the number 10 role and what he really needs is a natural number nine ahead of him. David Datro Fofana is an option that could be considered, although his inexperience would count against him but Havertz’s struggles mean an alternative will have to be found sooner rather than later.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.