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Chelsea duo Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke have sent a clear message to Mauricio Pochettino over their place in the starting lineup to face AFC Bournemouth this weekend.
It comes after a mixed bag of results for the Blues since the Premier League season got underway, with a draw to Liverpool being backed up with victory over Luton Town. However, defeats to West Ham and Nottingham Forest either side of that win has seen them pick up just four points from the opening four games.
One particular issue for Pochettino has been his side's inability to be clinical in front of goal, something that has been an issue at Stamford Bridge for a few years now. "This type of game will help us to be more mature and learn the competition," the head coach said after defeat to Forest.
"It is not only to have quality, after it's about to compete in a different way. To match their aggression to match energy, to match desire. Of course we were better, we cannot say that we didn't deserve but in football the stats sometimes reflect what you do but in that case we create but we didn't score, few shots on target and we should have more. That is about the process, all of the team.
"We were not lucky because I think we deserved more at West Ham and today but we didn't get a point but we need to keep going, be positive and it is a process that I said before, is a matter of time."
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With the international break giving some time for reflection, a return to action against Bournemouth may give the perfect springboard for results to swing Chelsea's way once again. With uncertainty over the team's ability in front of goal, it could be the perfect time to draft two players in.
That being Palmer and Madueke, who are yet to start a game in the league this season, though the former only joined on transfer deadline day. The pair have great potential that can be reached and may take time, but they have already shown plenty of what they are capable of.
During the international break, England's under 21s faced off against Luxembourg for European Championship qualifiers, with the two Chelsea starlets featuring. Madueke walked away with an assist from the clash, while Palmer took a goal and an assist away with his contributions.
It remains to be seen exactly how soon they could be thrown into the fold by Pochettino, however there may be no better time as the team search for wins early on in the campaign.
