Chelsea manager Guus Hiidink says that Alexandre Pato could make his Chelsea debut against Norwich City on Tuesday night. The Brazilian joined on loan from Corinthians in January and has been working on his fitness ever since. But Hiidink thinks he has physically caught up with the group enough to play.
With big Champions League and FA Cup ties ahead, Hiidink is considering resting Diego Costa for the trip to Carrow Road, which could open the door for Pato. "There is a possibility, [he will play] yes. We have two league games coming up before PSG," Hiidink said.
“He is not ready for 90 minutes but he is able to play part of the game. But once more I say that we consider also the chances for the young guys.
“He is eager and we have also a healthy competition between the strikers in a very good atmosphere. Diego is the No. 1 but the others have stepped up. I"m especially happy with the progress of Bertrand Traore.
“Although he"s a young guy and the others might have more status, I"m not just looking at that. I"m looking also at the youngsters who are making good progress, and then [Pato] and Remy are also in a good position to compete.
“Let"s hope [Pato can make an impact] because we have games coming up in the near future, but that"s why I said in his particular situation it"s best to have players on loan, so he can get used to this club and the club can make a proper judgement about his performances in training and in short parts of the game.
“At the moment to be fair to everyone, the youngsters are a bit ahead. I like fair competition."
