The wonderkid tipped to replace Chukwueze in Villarreal starting XI against Chelsea

Published: August 11, 2021

Celebrated English and Spanish newspapers The Times and Marca reckon that Spanish wonderkid Yeremi Pino will get the nod to start for Villarreal in their UEFA Super Cup clash against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Manager of the Yellow Submarine Unai Emery could have opted to name Samuel Chukwueze in the starting lineup assuming he was fit but the Nigeria international has been left behind in Spain as he continues his recovery from a muscle-related injury suffered three months ago.

The left-footed Chukwueze usually plays as an inverted winger, which allows him to use his pace and dribbling skills to cut inside from the right flank.

The Times (via UEFA's official website) envisage that Pino will be positioned on the right side of midfield in a 4-4-2 formation, while Marca have gone for a 4-3-3 formation with the number 21 playing as the right winger.

Marca's rival AS speculates that Manu Trigueros will start as the right-sided midfielder in a 4-4-2.

Unai Emery has absolute confidence in the 18-year-old Pino, handing him twelve starts over the course of the 2020-2021 campaign including the Europa League showpiece vs Manchester United.

At 18 years and 218 days, Pino became the youngest player to win the Europa League in May, beating the record set by Robin van Persie in the 2002 UEFA Cup final.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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