The Euros are underway, and teams are already starting to impress (or not) in their opening round of games.
There’s an interesting selection of Blues going to Germany to compete for the big trophy. It’s not the same selection of stars we might have had at the last tournament. But there still looks a decent chance that we get to see a Chelsea player lift the trophy.
If you were to choose one of the many betting promo codes and offers available for this tournament, which Chelsea player would you back to go furthest?
It’s an interesting question this year. In tournaments gone by, there would have been a large crop of Blues playing for England, France, Italy and Spain, giving you plenty to choose from among the favourites.
The way that the squad has been radically de-aged in recent years however, plus a move towards more South American players, plus some general bad luck with injuries in the last year, means that’s no longer the case. There are actually relatively few Blues at this this tournament compared to some previously.
There’s players like Mykhailo Mudryk, Armando Broja and Djordje Petrovic, who are guaranteed starters but for weaker nations.
Then there are players for stronger countries – like Cole Palmer for England and Ian Maatsen for Holland – who aren’t yet certain of getting starts (although that could change as the tournament progresses).
Romelu Lukaku is set to be a key figure for Belgium once again – although most Blues fans prefer not to think of him as a Chelsea player anyway.
So who does that leave? It looks to us that, Lukaku aside, there are two Chelsea players set to start regularly for teams among the 5 favourites for the tournament.
Marc Cucurella made his tournament bow yesterday with a good performance in an impressive Spain win. It’s hard to see the team being changed up too much after that, and we now expect him to be a key player going forward for La Roja.
Then there’s Conor Gallagher, who is expected to start for England tonight. His place isn’t entirely secure – we can’t even be sure Gareth Southgate gives him the nod against Serbia this evening – but assuming he does start and England do well, we reckon he’s a safe bet to feature regularly as he offers something really unique in that group.
It could well end up being a battle between him and Cucurella to see who goes furthest.
