Enzo Maresca faces worrying squad selections as Seven Chelsea players could leave club next week
Enzo Maresca is well into getting ready for Chelsea’s US preseason tour. The majority of the Italian team, which is quite large, has been working for two weeks in Cobham ahead of the first, and mildest, friendly of the summer.
On July 25, the Blues will play Wrexham, a new League One team. The identical match was played the previous season because Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenney, the Hollywood owners of Wrexham, contributed cash and glitz. That day, Chelsea triumphed 5-0, and they went on to have a great time in the USA.
Compared to a year ago, there are more concerns about the head coach, the team, and the club as a whole under Maresca. There’s still a lot to demonstrate and more to prove in every area. The first job is to decide who will be his touring group.
But even among the group traveling over the Atlantic, placements at Stamford Bridge are uncertain, according to football.london, which attempted to anticipate that. Some may be in their final week or so to make their case during the Maresca.
Due to their obligations at Euro 2024, Marc Cucurella, Conor Gallagher, and Cole Palmer are all gone for the time being. This leaves vacancies in the lineup and chances for players to show what they can do. In particular, at left-back and in attack, where Cucurella and Palmer are expected to start the season as regular starters.
This leaves pressure on Ben Chilwell – who has been linked with a move away whilst Chelsea look at other defensive targets – and a host of attackers to cement a place under Maresca. There are no noises yet around Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk’s future despite a hit-and-miss first 18 months at SW6.
Raheem Sterling has been more central to speculation. football.london understands that he is happy at Chelsea and wishes to stay though in order to get the team back to the top. He will face competition from Palmer and Christopher Nkunku though and has this week before the full squad is together to try and hammer home a statement to Maresca.
There are more likely players to leave though that will be up against it in the next few days and weeks. Most of those are loans with Alfie Gilchrist, Deivid Washington, and Marc Guiu all attempting to show why they should be granted a first-team spot.
In Gilchrist’s case a loan is on the cards with Championship sides already expressing their interest. He will be keen to get a run in senior football and build his case that way rather than battling against an already bloated centre-back list.
As for Washington and Guiu, both teenagers have limited first-team experience and will be behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order upfront. Nkunku can also play as a centre-forward and Chelsea are in the market for a No.9, which may well see Washington and/or Guiu depart in the weeks to come. Whilst Jackson is not training at the Surrey-based Cobham complex, they have a chance to stake a claim as well.
The same is true for Andrey Santos. He impressed under Pochettino last year before being sent on loan after Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo were signed along with the slightly more senior Lesley Ugochukwu. He looked good at RC Strasbourg from January onwards and will now be hoping to find a place in the team.
Without Gallagher present for the time being, Santos has a chance to make a mark on Maresca. Moises Caicedo is also not back just yet from the Copa America, so even more room is there in the next week if he wishes to remain at SW6 for the coming year.
Gallagher himself faces an uncertain future. Chelsea have made it clear that they would be open to selling this summer if the right offer comes in, but currently the price tag is keeping clubs away from him. Whilst he will certainly back himself to forge a way into Maresca’s team despite midfield competition and the arrival of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the upcoming friendly matches will be important in determining how Chelsea move into the final weeks of the window.
If Gallagher has more than a fighting chance of staying then time is surely almost up for Armando Broja. He is back in training after being at the Euros with Albania but looks likely to be on his way out in the near future. Chelsea are once again happy for him to leave the club and the valuation has markedly dropped from that of six months ago before his loan at Fulham.
He does now have the chance to show Maresca that staying put and trusting him would be beneficial. But like Washington and Guiu, with the options in attack it would take quite a turnaround for him to remain long-term, and possibly even past the end of next month.
The other player who has been most closely associated with a permanent exit this window is Trevoh Chalobah. His situation is similar to Gallagher and Broja but the price being asked is not thought to be as high. Chelsea already have an abundance of defensive options and Chalobah would represent pure profit on the books if sold, something that gives the finances a big boost.
However, he is thought to be keen on staying put, like Gallagher, in an attempt to once more tie down a regular spot under Maresca. With Wesley Fofana coming back from a long-term injury, his best chance of becoming a mainstay under the new boss may well be in the coming days and weeks at Cobham and in America before his teammates are back for the fight.
One way or another, Maresca’s side will need trimming both before travelling to the USA and then for the start of the English season. For a lot of the players that aren’t certain to make the cut, the upcoming period will be key.