In recent years, the club have enjoyed some very efficient and ruthless penalty takers like Eden Hazard and Jorginho.
Hazard took 19 penalties in the Premier League for the blues and he scored 17 from the spot and scored the rebound of the other 2. Every single time Hazard placed the ball on the penalty spot in the premier league, a goal followed.
Jorginho on the other hand brought a very impressive trademark hop, skip and jump technique of shooting penalties that has saw him score more than 90% of all his goals for Chelsea from the spot.
After Jorginho left for Arsenal in January, players like Kai Havertz and Mason Mount took the responsibility, although, unofficially. As they have also left the club, there is a need for Mauricio Pochettino to decide who will become the next penalty taker.
Here are some very good options
Before Christopher Nkunku suffered a long term injury, he would have been the most likely candidate for this task. But since he will be out for several months, the blues will have to look for someone else.
1. Reece James
As we’ve seen in the past, the new captain certainly has a good record of penalties for the club anytime he steps up to take them in shootouts. He could be a very good option for the club this season.
2. Nicolas Jackson
As the number one striker, Jackson will need to be scoring goals and we have seen glimpses of his quality in front of goal. It is very likely that he might be the one who gets the nod to shoulder this responsibility because goals build the striker’s confidence and penalties can help improve his numbers.
3. Mykhailo Mudryk
Chelsea’s new number 10 has a brilliant ball striking technique and could very well be the man for the job. At his former club Shakhtar Donetsk, he had some chances to take penalties and he did very well.
4. Raheem Sterling
Experience-wise, Sterling might get the nod for this task. Although, I don’t think he has a very outstanding record from the spot as we’ve seen him miss quite a handful at Manchester City.
5. Enzo Fernandez
Could the man who replaced Jorginho be chosen to continue his predecessor’s legacy? Enzo certainly can pick a spot and bury the ball if he is handed the task.
All of these five players have a chance to do the job and in my opinion, can do a very good job at it. But If I had to choose one person to give this responsibility to, the I’d give it to Nicolas Jackson. Or Mudryk. It remains to be seen who Mauricio Pochettino would appoint for this task.
