Enzo Maresca slammed over his ‘unfair’ treatment of Chelsea star
Enzo Maresca has been slammed over his ‘unfair’ treatment of Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell.
Chilwell was one of several Chelsea players to be placed in Maresca’s ‘bomb squad’ following his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca, who left Championship winners Leicester City to replace Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager, confirmed last month than Chilwell and Raheem Sterling were training away from his first-team squad.
The Italian urged both players to leave if they had hopes of regular football this season but while Sterling moved to Premier League rivals Arsenal on loan, Chilwell failed to secure a summer move.
Discussing Chilwell last month, Maresca said: ‘It’s quite clear, I love the way he is but the problem is that he struggles with us a little bit to find his best position.
‘This morning we had 22 players training, and if you ask all of them they will say they want to play against City on Sunday but that is impossible.
‘When they train every day and do not get any minutes, it is not good for them or for me, (as) I need to make a decision.
‘It is probably better to leave and get minutes (elsewhere). The transfer window is open so we’ll see what happens.’
Despite Maresca’s assessment, Chilwell struggled to attract interest during the summer transfer window and will now look to rescue his faltering Chelsea career.
But the 27-year-old England international is yet to get any minutes so far this season and it remains to be seen whether Maresca will soften his stance and give him another chance.
Ex-Chelsea defender Glen Johnson has described Maresca’s treatment of Chilwell as ‘unfair’ and says the former Leicester City star is ‘more than good enough’ to be playing regularly for the Blues.
‘Ben’s more than good enough to be playing for Chelsea,’ he told Betfred. ‘And I do believe it’s silly sometimes when a new manager comes into a club with a preconceived idea of their team before they’ve even worked with the players.
‘It’s evident that the players in the “bomb squad” didn’t even get a chance to impress Maresca, so in that sense, I don’t think it’s fair on Ben Chilwell.’
Given Maresca’s comments about Chilwell, it was a surprise to see the full-back return to first-team training on Monday.
Chilwell was pictured smiling alongside his manager, potentially hinting his Chelsea career may not be over as the Blues look to impress in Maresca’s first season in west London.
Chelsea continued their promising run of form with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth at the weekend. They return to action on Saturday with a trip to east London to face West Ham.