guillement
I don’t work with 42 players. I work with 21 players.
The Italian tactician has therefore decided to impose strong and assumed choices at the start of the season, and to literally sort through the squad.I don’t work with 42 players. I work with 21 players. The other fifteen or twenty players train on the sidelines. I don’t see them.”he declared at a press conference before hosting Servette for the first Conference League play-off match. Maresca has not hesitated to push Chelsea big names out, as was the case with Conor Gallagher. The Englishman has just signed a €42 million contract with Atlético Madrid until 2029, shortly after the announcement of Joao Félix’s return to Stamford Bridge.
Still no official announcement for Lukaku
Others are in an emergency situation. After the first two official matches played against Manchester City (0-2 defeat) and Servette (2-0 victory), the circle of players on whom the coach is counting next season seems very clear, with 22 different players called up during the two matches. For the others, the message is even clearer and he definitely did not choose to mince his words in the press conference.They are Chelsea players. Until they are not. But you can’t give them all the minutes. Those who want minutes, it’s better that they leave.” In these statements, Enzo Maresca was referring to the case of Raheem Sterling, among others, who learned a few days ago that he no longer had a future with Chelsea. To the point of seeing his number 7 escape him, he who is still under contract until June 30, 2027, to be assigned to Pedro Neto, the 24-year-old Portuguese who has just signed a 7-year contract for 60 million euros.
Another player sees his path with Chelsea completely blocked. Ben Chilwell, one of the club’s great figures (105 matches) who played a crucial role in winning the Champions League in 2021, is no longer part of the coach’s plans. Also under contract until 2027, the defender has been affected by injuries in the last two years, and must quickly find a new club if he wants to tread the turf this season. Djordje Petrovic is also being pushed out. The player who played the second half of last season in goal did not convince his new coach, and is no match for the new summer recruit, Filip Jorgensen. The newspaper The Team revealed that he could join Ligue 1 by signing for Strasbourg. As for Romelu Lukaku, he is still waiting for an official announcement in Naples.
The season begins once again… without Romelu Lukaku
Criticized by the English press
Despite their 2-0 victory against Servette, the Blues were booed by their fans and attracted criticism from the English press for the low level of play they demonstrated. Against the Swiss club, the Mirror estimated the value of the eleven starters at 528 million euros, while the bench had a squad that was worth more or less 442 million euros. If the club has kept its standing in terms of figures since the takeover by the new owner, being the 4th club in the world with the highest market value (1.09 billion euros, behind Real, Manchester City and Arsenal) the challenge for Enzo Maresca will be to find the sufficient level with the squad he has chosen, to try to dominate the European sphere sportingly again.
