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1 month ago
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9 arrivals, 222 million euros spent, but still 43 players in the squad, which already complicates the start of Enzo Maresca’s career at Chelsea. Appointed to the Blues bench this summer to replace Mauricio Pochettino, the former Leicester coach is navigating blindly and against all odds. His management may have sold Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson for a little over 100 million euros, let Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech and Malang Sarr leave the club freely, and sent six players on loan, but the squad still needs to be remodeled.
” Today, if I start to think that I have 43 players, it is not a good thing. I have 28 who train with me. Paul (Winstanley, the sporting director) and Laurence (Stewart, the co-sporting director) are responsible for finding solutions for these guys, not me. “, recalled the Italian coach at a press conference this week. A situation that forced him to do without the services of big names, like Romelu Lukaku, or Kepa, whose future remains very uncertain. If the first, who arrived from Inter Milan for 113 million euros in 2021, is today mentioned on the side of Naples, the file is stalling and remains closely linked to that of Victor Osimhen. The second, returned from his loan to Real Madrid, will see an eighth goalkeeper arrive at Chelsea in the person of Mike Penders, and for the moment, no real way out has been found for the Spaniard.
A crowded training room
While some players are still being asked to leave the club, such as Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, or Conor Gallagher, it is no easy feat. The latter, who was due to sign with Atlético de Madrid this week, was for example recalled by Chelsea after the failure of the deal carried out in parallel for Samu Omorodion. Today, the England international is even signing up for training sessions outside the group, while waiting to find a project.Conor is back. He is training separately. He has had some medical tests and is training a little bit. He will not play in the game against Manchester City. (Sunday, 5:30 p.m.). Right now he is trying to find a solution with the club“, Maresca confided this week, visibly already tired of the situation.
In recent days, images of Chelsea’s training room have also been circulating on social media, which has had the gift of amusing the gallery. “It looks like the Grigny Fitness Park at 6:00 p.m.”joked one internet user. If the club tries to find places to land its undesirables, at least 10 departures are still expected by the end of the transfer window. A worrying situation, while in terms of arrivals, João Félix is supposed to make his return, and Osimhen could also arrive. Tomorrow against Manchester City (5:30 p.m.), it’s a real headache that awaits Enzo Maresca when it comes to composing his starting eleven…
