“Drop pride and call him back” “He’s the missing piece” – Mikel Obi tells Enzo Maresca to call back Chelsea star who Thiago Silva rates high
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has left the door open to further loan recalls this month, but Trevoh Chalobah will not prove the answer to the club’s centre-back injury crisis.
The Blues are light at the heart of defence heading into the second half of the season, after Maresca confirmed lengthy spells on the sidelines for both Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana.
Fofana could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury sustained against Aston Villa at the start of last month, while Badiashile, who had briefly stepped up as his deputy, will not return until February at the earliest after suffering a hamstring problem of his own.
On Friday, the Blues confirmed that 19-year-old defender Aaron Anselmino has been recalled from his loan spell at Boca Juniors, having been sent straight back to the Argentine outfit after signing for Chelsea last summer.
But former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel has advised Maresca to do all in his power to bring Chalobah back, who was not even given an opportunity to play under him.
“I don’t still believe MAresca allow such player to leave for a Premier League rivals, He’s doing well at Palace and now i hope he can see why he needs to have Chalobah in his squad” .
“I remember when he was at Chelsea, pairing him with Thiago Silva was a strong defense. He should swallow his pride and call him back in the summer. Fofana is out of the season and I suppose he can’t play even at the beginning of the season.
“Chalobah is calm and so much discpline that he can help this Chelsea team, very strong and a focus player” . He also said
In the meantime, Thaigo Silva offers his opinion on Chalobah back in 2021.
“He is a player despite being so young who plays like an experienced professional,” says the Brazilian, “and that makes me really happy because I’m there alongside him playing the same position and I can see how he’s performing, how he’s developing.
“Not just anybody can do this, can step up to a team like Chelsea and perform and he’s not doing it because of my help, he’s doing it because of his own abilities. He is a player who I knew from France where he was playing at a lower level for Lorient and he’s made the step up and he’s playing here because he deserves to.
“Some people said that he didn’t have the ability to do so but he’s made it because of his own capacities. That’s something that makes me really happy because a player like Trevoh Chalobah is the future of this club.”