The opening four games of the season have been far from ideal for Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino.

After a strong performance against Liverpool, there was disappointment seven days later at West Ham United. A win against Luton Town the next week followed but the Blues were beaten at home to Nottingham Forest before the international break.

In the early weeks of the season, we have seen a rather surprise formation and system used by Pochettino. The Argentine spent the whole of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States using the 4-2-3-1 formation – a shape and style he has used plenty throughout his managerial career, so it is what we expected to see at the beginning of the campaign but that has not been the case.

Instead, what Pochettino has used is a bit more complicated and has some roles in there that some Chelsea supporters are still a bit bemused by; even now after it has been used for four Premier League matches. Ben Chilwell is being used in an unorthodox role as a left winger, where he is usually used as a full-back.

Chilwell certainly has not set the world alight in his new role and there have been numerous calls to push the England international back into defence sooner rather than later. Levi Colwill, instead, has been the man used at left-back, with Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva forming a partnership in the centre of defence.

While Colwill has not played badly as a full-back, his attributes definitely suit playing as a central defender more. Chelsea’s long-term plan will surely still see Colwill playing as a centre-back and Chilwell on the left of him, but there is no clear indication when we will see that again.

Perhaps after the ongoing international break, we could see the 4-2-3-1 once again – something Chelsea supporters have been crying out for on social media. The Blues are away at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon and could trial something different after a really underwhelming attacking display against Forest last time out.

We could see a debut for Cole Palmer down on the south coast, which could see a swap of wings for the in-form Raheem Sterling. Fortunately for Chelsea, Sterling is equally as strong on both flanks and seeing him cut in on his favoured right foot could actually benefit him against the Cherries, while Palmer will be doing the same on his preferred left.

With Christopher Nkunku still sidelined for some time, Chelsea do not have many options for the No.10 role behind Nicolas Jackson. One man, however, that suits that position is the brilliant Enzo Fernandez, who has been enjoying a more advanced role in the early stages of the season.

Having Fernandez further up the pitch sees Chelsea look far more controlled when they are in attacking areas. The Argentina international undoubtedly needs to add more goals and assists to his game if he is to continue playing in these advanced positions but the early indications are really positive.

What Fernandez will do, though, in the No.10 position is drop deep to collect the ball when Chelsea are in possession and look to dictate play from the areas we are used to seeing him do so. In doing this, it is likely to attract an opposition midfielder into a position they do not really want to be in and therefore create space in the middle for the likes of Jackson, Sterling and Palmer to exploit.

What the Argentine does off the ball is just as important as what he does while on it when playing in the No.10 role. The key to play in that position just behind the striker is to almost have a free-roaming role which confuses and frustrates the opposition because those operating there are usually the most dangerous attacking players in the team, so they must be followed at all times.

It will be a similar position to where we saw Nkunku used, at times, during pre-season but the role and its responsibilities will be slightly different. Nkunku was used essentially as a second striker and was making runs alongside Jackson – like a centre-forward would. Meanwhile, Fernandez would be another midfielder essentially, just in a more advanced role.

Pochettino sees Fernandez as a No.8 so the No.10 role might not be where the head coach sees his Argentine countryman. But there is certainly potential as a wildcard option.

“He is a No.8,” Pochettino said to Sky Sports last month on Fernandez. “One of the first things when we met him is to talk about his position and how he feels comfortable, and then to talk about his quality. He needs some freedoms. He has the quality to assist, to shoot from outside the box.