Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has made it clear that talented young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is not in his first-team plans as he explained he felt it was better for him to leave in the summer.
Maresca has spoken publicly about players like Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell previously not being in his plans, while Trevoh Chalobah was also frozen out of the Chelsea squad in pre-season before leaving on loan for Crystal Palace.
The Italian tactician is doing a good job at Stamford Bridge so far, but some Blues fans will perhaps question if he’s being a little too outspoken on some of his players.
Chukwuemeka seems like someone Chelsea could perhaps be using more, but Maresca probably won’t be doing his confidence the world of good by making it clear he’s going to have limited playing time here, and that a loan move would make more sense for him.
Chukwuemeka transfer: Chelsea manager’s quotes on the midfielder…
See below as Fabrizio Romano quoted Maresca on Chukwuemeka’s future…
?? Maresca on Carney Chukwuemeka: "He's a very good player, but for the amount of players we have… we decided at the start of the season that it would be better for him to leave".
"We wanted him to play 35 games rather than be here and play less games". pic.twitter.com/1onZirz3px
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2024
Chelsea have a big squad, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that someone like Chukwuemeka faces a fight for his place, but it’s perhaps also a bit of a surprise the west Londoners moved for him in the first place when so many other players were also coming in at around the same time.
CFC surely have to show they believe in players like Chukwuemeka if they are going to justify their transfer policy of signing so many similarly talented young players.
Chukwuemeka could perhaps do well to go out on loan for his own sake, as he perhaps hasn’t done enough yet to be able to convince Maresca he’s worth more playing time.
The 20-year-old could likely do well for a number of Premier League clubs, so it will be interesting to see how this situation develops between now and January.