Ben Chilwell admits he has ‘missed’ playing for Chelsea after the exiled defender finally made his first appearance under Enzo Maresca.
The left-back was one of Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ stars, banished from the first-team over the summer by Maresca and told to find a new club.
However, while the likes of Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling were able to seal a move away, Chilwell remained at Stamford Bridge amid a lack of interest in the England international.
As a result, Maresca has allowed him back into training and handed him his first minutes of the season in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup win over Barrow.
The Blues thrashed the League Two side 5-0 at home, with Chilwell coming on at half-time for Malo Gusto and performing well.
Throughout his exile, the 27-year-old has remained quiet but took to Instagram after the match to thank fans for their support, saying: ‘Missed nights at the Bridge in front of you guys.’
Despite his commitment to Chelsea, the club are expected to try and move him on when the transfer window reopens in January, though potential buyers may still be put off by his injury record and high wages.
The Carabao Cup is the only competition Chilwell is likely to play in for the rest of the year as he was not named in the Blues’ Conference League squad and is yet to appear in a Premier League matchday team.
Yet Maresca did hint that he is now willing to give the defender more game time after his impressive work on the training ground, having previously wanted nothing to do with the £45million signing.
In his post-Barrow press conference, Maresca rated Chilwell’s performance as: ‘Very good.
‘It was not easy for Chilly. He didn’t get any minutes this season but he has shown he is there, he is ready and working well.
‘There is not any problem. If we have a chance, we will give him some more minutes in games.
‘It was planned [to sub Chilwell on at half-time]. In the first-half, Malo went inside on that side and in the second-half, we did the same but on the left side with Chilly inside. But it was planned already.’
Chilwell’s next opportunity to play will be on Saturday when Chelsea host Brighton in the Premier League.