Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri says he is pleasantly surprised by the impact Calum Chambers has made in midfield.
Chambers, who is on loan from Arsenal, has played at both centre-back and right-back for Fulham so far this season and was first deployed as a holding midfielder under previous boss Slavisa Jokanovic in Fulham’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool last month.
And with Kevin McDonald and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa out injured, the England Under-21 international has impressed in Ranieri’s first two matches at the helm.
“He played very, very well,” Ranieri said of Chambers, who made seven tackles – three more than any other player – in Sunday’s loss at Chelsea.
“For me, he is a very good midfielder. He understands what I want. When he has the ball, he moves it quickly and in the right way. I am very surprised.”
Ranieri was more guarded when asked about the potential signing of Chelsea outcast Danny Drinkwater, who was a key part of the Italian’s title-winning season at Leicester in 2015/16.
“If I am interested, I don’t tell you. In this moment, my mind is only on my team and how I can help my players improve, to play together and to be a strong squad,” he said.
“I have time to understand what we need.”
This post was last modified on 03/12/2018