In Graham Potter's third game in charge, Trevoh Chalobah was brought in from the cold against AC Milan at Stamford Bridge. The defender had been a bit player for Thomas Tuchel at the beginning of the season and had lost his position to Wesley Fofana after the new manager took over.
He hasn't missed a single second of action since then. The 23-year-old has been a mainstay at Chelsea throughout a trying six weeks that has revealed more about his mentality than it has about his skills, in part because of the injuries around him and in part because of the extraordinary form he has displayed.
The English defender has previously had to deal with Tuchel benching him in the second part of the previous campaign, and he appeared to struggle.
Since then he has come back to fight for his chance at Stamford Bridge again, and he hasn't let the side down yet.
Until losing against Brighton in the 4-1 hammering that kickstarted a Chelsea collapse - three domestic losses in a row and just two points from four league games - Chalobah was unbeaten in 30 matches that he had started. The team's loss of form hasn't come because of Chalobah, but he's been part of a wider drop off that has turned the fanbase.
Now sitting 13 points leaders Arsenal and in a true battle for the top four, Chelsea's trip to Newcastle has heightened importance. The Magpies have been tremendous this season and have only lost once, drawing to Manchester City and beating Tottenham in the process.
Eddie Howe's men are in brilliant form and could put a nine point gap between themselves and Chelsea should the Blues fail to win, albeit Potter's men would have a game in hand. Heading into the game though there are major questions as to how the Blues set-up, especially with less than 10 days until the World Cup kicks off and injuries being a huge factor recently.
Former Blues winger Pat Nevin doesn't think that Chalobah should miss out despite his immense workload recently. "The one thing about Trevoh, I’m massively excited about him. I think he’s absolutely nailed on," he told the Chelsea FanCast. "The way he has grown, and I mean physically as well, in a very short time is great."f
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