Gareth Southgate's explanations for picking Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher in the most recent England squad go some way to suggesting just how Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino might look with all the attacking tools available. The Blues have been shifting their frontline in search of balance in the absence of Christopher Nkunku so far this season but will soon not have to worry about that.

The Frenchman is set to return shortly after the international break and is expected to provide immediate impetus for Pochettino but just how he fits in remains unclear. Having featured in almost every position from left-winger to striker, false nine to No.10 and right-sided midfielder, the 26-year-old is versatile and extremely flexible.

Without him Pochettino has mixed between using Raheem Sterling on either flank - initially looking sharp from the right but finishing the most recent set of games dominating the left - with Ben Chilwell tasked with playing out of position on occasion when fit as well as integrating Mykhailo Mudryk some more.

Now that Palmer is in the side things have clicked somewhat and the Blues have scored 19 times in eight games since his first start including four in game on four separate weeks. The issue is that with all of the talent available it will soon look very congested and this is without adding Noni Madueke or Ian Maatsen into the mix. Both have had limited gametime this season and face a tough task to get back into contention with bodies returning.

Although rotation and tweaks on a weekly basis are far from the worst thing it is not common for Pochettino to change his side when on a run, this could cause issues further down the line without midweek European football to spread the load. Southgate, though, has spoken of just where he sees the best roles for three of these players and it may well offer an insight into how the team looks at Stamford Bridge in the coming months.

"In terms of Cole, the key was [we] lost [James] Maddison and Jude [Bellingham] so we wanted somebody who could play as a 10," he said ahead of the Three Lions' meeting with Malta on Friday. "Of course, he’s playing wider at the moment for his club, but we hadn’t lost a winger as such, we’d lost two attacking midfield players.

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"So we’ve got a couple of players now who can fulfill that sort of role for these games. Raheem was excellent at the weekend against [Manchester] City, as was Cole. But the position was the reason for [calling up] Cole really.”

Sterling and Palmer have been coexisting for Chelsea in recent weeks, often appearing on opposite flanks, but Nkunku's return might change that make-up. Palmer, right now, is undroppable and the most important player in the team. He has four goals - all from the spot but under massive pressure - and five assists in all competitions but outside of that simply makes things tick and has been the thread between the lines.

He was signed, it is thought, as someone that can occupy the space behind Nicolas Jackson - or Armando Broja and possibly Nkunku when needed - but has more often than not drifted to the right and come inside, creating space for Sterling on the left to take on his man. It is this chemistry and understanding that has seen him emerge as a late contender for the Euro 2024 squad even with Bellingham, Maddison and Phil Foden all competing for a spot in the same area.

Sterling, meanwhile, is the most senior of the attackers at the club even when everyone is fit. He has looked much sharper this season as well, providing spatial awareness and driving runs that were missing from the mess of last year across the field. The fact that Southgate hasn't picked him to join the side has been a point of much contention given his impact for England but when it comes to No.10s he really isn't one.

The other Three Lions international is Gallagher. He has been one of the standout players under Pochettino this season, starting all 12 league games and also two of the three League Cup ties as well. He is valued highly by the new boss and is currently captain when Reece James isn't on the field as well.

His role has shifted as well throughout the season. From last year under Thomas Tuchel when he was utilised deeper and in a pivot there has been a marked change in demand, expectation and also the use of his skills. Now, with Pochettino in charge, he is a roaming player able to make any opposition player uncomfortable on the ball, hurrying even the most relaxed tempo-setters in the league and doing so with relentless energy. He has been given freedom to do so and remains sharp around the box even if it hasn't resulted in output this season .

“I think positionally, his best attributes lend himself to that either attacking eight or pressing as a 10 as he did for his club at the weekend," Southgate explained when asked where he fits in. “His pressing is probably as good as anyone in the league. He regained and recovered so many balls and in the final third, he has a goal in him.

"He hasn't achieved that this season with his club but we saw that with his spell at Crystal Palace and we saw that when he trained with us. So I think although, at times, he has played lower and can play lower, his best attributes are slightly higher as a midfield player, with pressing the counter press and the regains.

"But his receiving skills and his passing lower, when he receives, have definitely improved in the last six months as well.” Gallagher's rise to prominence has come under pressure from £100million teammates alongside him with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez arriving in the past 11 months.

Gallagher, though, is the one mixing on and off-ball talents. He has committed more fouls than any other player in the league, showing a different type of steel in front of the backline that has been missing, but is also in the top five for interceptions and tackles. It is this all-round part to his game that makes him so valuable.

Chelsea still choose to play with three midfielders and three attackers in a 4-3-3, though the lop-sided and aysmmetrical shape due to full-back roles often tilts this. They don't however, lack on bodies going forward due to Gallagher's starting position. He not only tends to lead the press, something that leaves the side in a 4-4-2 shape instead as Palmer also moves centrally, but he also arrives from deep when in possession as well.

It was something that Pochettino tried with Fernandez in the opening weeks of the season but has tweaked to see Gallagher roaming forward, just like he was able to at Selhurst Park. It means that in reality he, alongside Palmer, are the two currently playing the No.10 role most closely. What this does create though is a selection dilemma that not even Southgate's words can solve.

When Nkunku returns, unless he is played through the middle as a striker, someone from somewhere has to drop out. It's unlikely to be a member of the back four, Pochettino has settled on his choices there and favours the extra man, and it would be brave to leave the midfield open given Gallagher's tendency to push on. If it is an attacker then who that person is really isn't clear.

Rotation and fitness will define that to some extent but there does remain a question over how the best XI will look when everyone is fit. Add in Romeo Lavia and the midfield also looks well populated. Gallagher is the least glamorous name of the group selected right now but his work is just as valuable. It looks like a shootout between him and Jackson depending on where Nkunku plays but the forward has just scored four times in two games.

It's supposedly a manager's dream to have these choices but at some point it may have to give. It adds pressure on all of those in competition to perform on a weekly basis which is exactly what is often wanted but the selection headache is a tough one and some of Chelsea's biggest names could find themselves disappointed in the months to come.