Selection headache for Ranieri in crunch clash

CLAUDIO Ranieri has revealed Ryan Sessegnon is locked in a head-to-head battle with World Cup winner Andre Schurrle to pull the strings for Fulham against Huddersfield Town.

The Premier League’s bottom two clash at Craven Cottage on Saturday after a 1-1 draw with Wolves on Boxing Day lifted Ranieri’s men off the foot of the table.

Sessegnon was on target as a second-half replacement for Schurrle in that match and now Ranieri must decide whether the gifted 18-year-old winger should oust the Germany forward from the starting line-up.

“It’s important that the coach has the choice to change some players and give a chance to everybody,” Ranieri said.

“It’s not a shame, but it’s important for me to choose. Maybe we can choose at the beginning Sessegnon and then Schurrle and the rest of the team is the same.

“Both players impress me as Schurrle is experienced and Sessegnon is fresh.”

Sessegnon’s speed and ingenuity down the left was a constant threat to Wolves for the 25 minutes he was on the pitch and while Ranieri predicts he has a bright future, he insists he must become more aggressive if he is to realise his potential.

“He needs more experience and to play more. We need to look at what happens when he’s on the bench because he’s a very good player,” Ranieri said.

“He has to improve his strength because when there’s a tackle, he’s not so strong. He must understand this and be a little more aggressive. He’s young, but is very good.” TOWN boss David Wagner squarely blamed his team’s lack of firepower upfront for their string of defeats.

The manager said a lack of goals was his ‘biggest problem’ when trying to turn the fortunes of the Terriers around and rescue them from relegation.

“The most important thing is that we know what went wrong – and one of the big things we haven’t done this season so far is scoring goals,” Wagner said. “This is our feeling performance wise.

“We know that we are able to per-