Chelsea star forces Maresca into transfer u-turn

Suraj Radia

• 16 Nov 2024 13:30 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea’s bright start to the season has led Enzo Maresca to rethink his plans for the January transfer window after being impressed by one player in particular.

The Blues sit third in the Premier League after 11 games and Maresca has slowly discovered his core of players whom he has begun to trust and rely on after being appointed as Chelsea manager in the summer.

Chelsea added a large number of players to their squad in the summer but Maresca was understood to also be keen on strengthening at left-back, however the failure to sell Ben Chilwell or Marc Cucurella prevented a signing in that area.

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Neither player was seen as a long-term option for Maresca and the Italian coach was hoping to bring in a younger option such as Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, whom he deemed more suitable for his vision going forward.

However, according to TBR Football, Cucurella’s form to start the year has led to Maresca shelving plans to sign a new left-back, having started eight times in the Premier League this season.

The development of summer signing Renato Veiga has also encouraged Chelsea and it is believed that both he and Cucurella have done enough to win over Maresca and allow the club to focus their resources elsewhere.

Chilwell still out in the cold despite Maresca u-turn

Despite the change in thinking for Chelsea, the news will not be encouraging for Chilwell, who is still considered surplus to requirements by Maresca ahead of the January window.

Chilwell has played just 45 minutes this season, against League Two side Barrow in the Carabao Cup, and an exit for the 27-year-old is considered the most likely option in the coming months.

No teams were willing to move for Chilwell despite Maresca banishing the England international from first team training and publicly stating that the defender has no future at the club.

The failure to secure an exit saw Chilwell reintegrated into Chelsea’s squad but he is still not in Maresca’s thoughts, having seen Cucurella, Veiga, Reece James and Malo Gusto all feature ahead of him at left-back.

Compared

Ben Chilwell

D, M (L)

Chelsea

Ben Chilwell

D, M (L)

Chelsea

VS

Marc Cucurella

D (L)

Chelsea

Marc Cucurella

D (L)

Chelsea

€13.1M	ETV	€27.8M
€9.8M - €16.4M	ETV Range	€20.8M - €34.7M
27 years old (21 Dec, 1996)	Age	26 years old (22 Jul, 1998)
England	Nationality	Spain

Chelsea had previously deemed Cucurella expendable but the player made it clear he had no desire to leave and the club now believe the left-back spot is not a priority to strengthen due to the Spaniard’s impressive performances.