Xabi Alonso insists Chelsea will sometimes line up with a three-man midfield even while Reece James is absent, and has explained in detail what each of his fit midfielders can bring.

James is set to be sidelined for around three months as he recovers from knee surgery.

That is likely to grow the role Jordan Henderson, 36, will play. He appears the most likely to nail down a regular place as Moises Caicedo’s midfield partner.

But Chelsea also have summer signing Valentin Barco and Belgian international Romeo Lavia, both 22, to provide competition for Caicedo and Henderson.

And while Chelsea have tended to play a 3-4-2-1 formation under Alonso, the Chelsea manager says he will sometimes need to play a system that features three midfielders.

“Sometimes we will need a third midfielder as well,” he said. “It is not just that we will play with two midfielders. Sometimes we will need a third for a different approach to the game.

“Against Brentford, even though the game didn’t go right, it was Valentin’s first starting game [in the Premier League] and he was very competitive. The minutes he has played with us, even in the [Carabao Cup], he has been very competitive.

Valentin Barco will improve with more experience, Xabi Alonso believes

PA

“He doesn’t care who the opponent is. He goes. He goes. That warrior, fighting spirit he brings to the team is very positive.”

Alonso says Lavia, who has previously had injury issues, is “super available” and said the 2023 summer signing is in “a good momentum”.

He added: “He's done really well. He's been available. He's played a lot of games. For him especially, that he's been able to be training regularly, playing regularly, playing 90 minutes. So it's been great.

“He's in a very good momentum. He played very well with Belgium. He played 25 minutes with us and he did really well. And we need to keep him with the other midfielders because that area is fundamental for our game.”

Caicedo, on his return from injury, and two-goal Henderson, on his full home debut, formed an impressive double act in last weekend’s 5-1 win over Brentford.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime trip to Everton, Alonso said: “It is one game. But we saw positives. I think that Moi helps Hendo. Hendo helps Moi.

“In terms of personalities, they match well. Hendo has this energy to go. He's very active. He covers a lot of pitch. And to find the balance with Moi, that he's more in the position and that he has this stability to be in good distances with everything. It was a good start, and we need to keep building from that.”