Samuel Chukwueze was forced to do something rare in Fulham’s loss to Everton on Saturday….
Super Eagles star Samuel Chukwueze has revealed that he can play as a striker, depending on the situation of the game, Soccernet.ng reports.
Chukwueze got 31 minutes of action off the bench for Fulham in their 2-0 loss to Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
The Super Eagles winger replaced Harry Wilson in the 59th minute, but Fulham lost their striker Rodrigo Muniz to an injury in the 75th minute.
Raul Jimenez would have been the natural replacement, but he had already been subbed off at the time, which meant that coach Marco Silva had to improvise. As such, he used Chukwueze as a winger.
The Super Eagles star failed to score, and hardly even saw the ball, majorly because Everton were the dominant team.
But after the game, when asked about how he adjusted to his new role, Chukwueze stated that he was already used to playing as a striker, as it was not his first time.
“I’ve been striking since when I was in Villarreal, and it was good. But today, I was looking for the ball, but it’s okay, it’s part of the game,” Chukwueze told Sporty TV.
“They needed someone to be in that position, so it had to be me. The loss was a difficult one to take, so we have to focus on the next game.”
That loss leaves Fulham in 15th, with 11 points from 11 games, just one point above the relegation zone.
Samuel Chukwueze: New Twist For Chelle?
Now that Samuel Chukwueze has confirmed that he can play as a striker, Eric Chelle has a fresh tactical twist, that he could exploit moving forward.
Although Nigeria have some talented strikers, none has proven to be as reliable as Osimhen. And since the Franco-Malian likes to play with two marksmen, he could use deploy Chukwueze in a more central role. Chelle already did something similar during the Unity Cup in June, and Chukwueze did really well.
The Fulham star assisted two of Victor Osimhen’s goals in Nigeria’s last game against Benin, and he seems to have a great relationship with the Galatasaray man.
Chukwueze can dribble and is a decent finisher. So having a tricky player like him, who can unlock defences, would not be a bad idea.
If things get tough during the upcoming World Cup playoffs, a Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen striker partnership is surely something Chelle could try.