Che Adams has only played a bit part in the last couple of months but as the games come thick and fast and injuries hit hard to the squad, this might offer an opportunity for the striker.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has reported that he has several doubts through injury for the visit to Chelsea and going forward.

“I have one big issue with Shane Long because he slipped last weekend and has a little knee injury.

“He couldn’t train today [Tuesday] and it doesn’t look very good [for Chelsea].”

Moussa Djenepo, who continues to struggle with a hamstring injury is also said to be out of contention although the manager has better news elsewhere.

“Moussa is still too early for him to play against Chelsea, Kevin [Danso] was ill but was training today [Tuesday] for the first time with the team.

“The good thing is Pierre [Højbjerg] got hit on his knee but has recovered very well so could train.

“Yan [Valery] is still out, but Sofiane [Boufal] is better and could train without an injection so is an option for Thursday.”

The main issue though is Shane Long who has played a vital part in recent weeks and although he has failed to score, he has created and made chances for others, his ability to hold the ball up and draw fouls has been instrumental in Danny Ings good form and it is no coincidence that Ings scoring run has flourished since Long has played alongside him in the past couple of months.

But if Long is unavailable on Boxing Day then it could open the door for Che Adams who has not started a Premier League game since the defeat to Bournemouth 3 months ago, since then he has had little meaningful game time in the Premier League with most of his appearances off the bench being 2 to 3 minute cameo roles to run down the clock with a the odd 10 minutes or so mixed in.

Adams has become the forgotten man and rumours persist that he may be shipped out on loan with several Championship clubs interested.

But Saints know they are short on genuine forward options when injuries kick in so i suspect that with defenders being their priority in the January transfer window, they will prefer to keep Adams in the squad.

In fairness to Adams, in the early part of the season he played his part in both of our wins back then as well as several other games, but he couldn't find the back of the net, it was bad luck more than poor finishing and he always seemed to find the goalkeeper in good form.

Strikers need luck and often they find their form after something happens beyond their control, sometimes that is a lucky ricochet or a goalkeeping mistake gifts them a goal, but also injuries to others can open the door.

So with attacking options thin on the ground due to injuries Adams could get his chance to step up to the plate and he might just relish the opportunity to finally get his Saints career going.

It might not be at Chelsea, Ralph Hasenhuttl might opt to go with one up top for this game, but for the two home games he is likely to be more adventurous and this is where Adams could well get a chance.

Che Adams is not the first Saints attacker to have a slow start to his career at St Mary's, both Jay Rodriguez and James Beattie are testament to the fact that you can start badly and go on to have great careers at the club.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 10:40 - Dec 25 IF .....all the gossip on Championship sites is anywhere near true...and Che Adams IS about to be loaned out to ....(choose a club, any club)...then at least we ought to give him a reprieve and have one last chance to prove himself before being shipped out. To be fair.. very few of our squad covered themselves in glory in those opening games, and the step up was a bit much for Che who was accustomed to having team mates play to his strengths, which resulted in his impressive goal tally last season. With Shane Long out for a game or two..and Boufal and Obafemi on the bench, Che is one of three strikers who have yet to prove himself and if not now ...when ? I say go for it ..give him a few starts before the window opens and see what happens. With the FA Cup likely to be our only chance of any sort of "glory" this season, if he can't score against a poor Huddersfield side, then I wouldn't argue it anymore, and admit that perhaps Championship is his true level, but at least give the fellow one last chance.

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underweststand added 10:46 - Dec 25 P.S. ..except ...one point in NIck's article above...I would play Adams against Chelsea. If we have to pay that level of fee, and he can'r be trusted to DAJFU in this type of fixture, then the long term expectations aren't worth the investment. Not talking about him scoring a hat-trick, (leave that to Danny ings) but a good showing, and an assist or so would be a good omen for the future.

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KriSaint added 15:13 - Dec 25 Absolutely agree that we should keep our 4-4-2 shape and play Adams if Long is injured. I actually think Ings sees obvious positive 'possibilities' (expression loaned from C. Puel) just around the corner for Adams, and Ings has never signalled complains about Adams. On the contrary, actually.
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Peterx added 15:29 - Dec 25 Assuming we want to keep the shape that has been working for us, yes could be logical to play Adams in the Long chasing role. But gut feel tells me he will likely start with the Arsenal line-up which would be Obafemi up front because of his extra pace and bring Adams on for him in the last 30 or so. The other option I see could be to push Redmond forward into the Long role, also assuming we want to play with pace up front and bring Boufal into the Redmond role. Out of all these options I personally think the last one is worth a go. I also it seems like Djenepo is unlikely to start given the press conference comments but he could probably come on at some stage.

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Colburn added 19:49 - Dec 25 Personally I would be very disappointed if Che goes out on loan. I think he has a huge amount to offer and agree Nick, he has not had a whisker of luck. Ings plays better with a partner and Adams should be in, no doubt! I would rest Redmond rather than advance him, he has not performed for a long time and it's not fair to the others who are wanting for, and deserve their chance, like Obafemi who has been involved in 3 goals inside 140mins..and Boufal who is a different level of threat on his day.

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Peterx added 12:25 - Dec 26 Fair point Colburn about resting Redmond and giving the others a go. Redmond's goal contributions have been almost non existent this season, so Boufal starting in Redmond's normal role could be a good shout. My issue with starting Ings and Adams together up front is that neither have Long/Obafemi/Redmond pace, therefore if we start them up front we remove the running in behind threat, I don't see us playing through Chelsea easily so if we are going to attempt to get any points out of this game with Long injured we have to imo have Obafemi or Redmond creating the running in behind threat.

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