Chelito Zaldívar's operation, together with Carlos Fierro's sale to Cruz Azul, opens the door wide for homegrown forwards.

It's time for the elements made in the Chivas academy to assume a leading role because they will have plenty of opportunities.

Chelito will be out of action until the end of March and during that time there will be the Concacaf Champions Cup and the league tournament. Almeyda will only have Alan Pulido, Chofis López, and Carlos Cisneros as reference points in attack. With these three, there is an attack full of variations, two wingers with dribbling, a lethal finisher like Alan Pulido. The problem will arise if these three fail to open up a match or if there is an injury or suspension. At the moment, Chivas lacks supporting players who can come off the bench and solve a defensive puzzle.

In this critical moment, with such a short squad, there are two academy players raising their hand to earn minutes and why not be the solution to offensive problems.

José Juan Macías played 305 minutes last semester and showed three important qualities as an academy player: hunger, passion, and talent. In his first tournament, he scored two goals, both in the victory against Xolos de Tijuana, and showed that he is skilled with the ball and can also shoot from outside the box. JJ is an explosive forward who will have many opportunities in both tournaments. Now it will depend on him whether he assumes the role of a starting second nine or waits his turn as a substitute for Chivas.

Macías has the full support of Almeyda and is a player who will be called up to the U-20 national team, which may result in him not being present in first team training sessions, and that could work against him this semester.

Jesús Godínez's case is special. He made his debut last May and showed his quality but did not have many opportunities. He scored a great goal last season, shooting from outside the box against Pumas and placing it in the top right corner. Chuy is a forward who is very good in the air, has goalscoring ability, and is a player who, despite his age, has the necessary composure to play without fear against experienced players. His physical build also helps him win physical battles.

These two forwards have already taken their first steps and scored goals in the First Division, and with Chelito Zaldívar's injury they have the upper hand. The club will benefit from the competition between the two. For now, and with reinforcements set to arrive, Almeyda will have to rely on them. However, the key will be the patience that these players receive, as they are very young and should not be demanded too much from them. They are just taking their first steps, and while it's true that patience doesn't exist at Chivas, these two forwards should be given some calm because their processes have been accelerated.

GPE