Maresca struggling in effort to ease squad concerns at Chelsea

New Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has claimed that the club’s precarious situation is not as bad as it seems. The Blues squad has swelled to include nearly 50 players in recent days. Despite completely revamping the team over the last two years, Chelsea has continued their spending spree. Team brass completed their 10th signing of the summer with a $58 million deal for Joao Felix.

Once regarded as one of the top prospects in the sport, Felix’s career has sputtered since joining Atletico Madrid in 2019. The Spanish side signed the young attacker for around $140 million at the time. Felix, however, never recorded more than 12 direct LaLiga goal involvements in a season with Atleti.

The attacker also previously spent the latter half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Chelsea. The deal included a $12 million fee, a large sum for a temporary deal. Felix was sent off in his first appearance with the Blues and ended with just four total goals in five months with Chelsea. Despite the previous failures, the Blues elected to bring back Felix on a massive permanent transfer.

Blues boss admits that he is not working with 21 players

Felix’s arrival comes at a time when Chelsea is forcing several players out of the team. They sold former alternate captain Conor Gallagher to Atleti and are hoping to make similar moves with around 20 other stars. One player in particular that may have played his last match with the Blues is Raheem Sterling.

The winger was left out of Chelsea’s first Premier League matchday squad, as well as their Europa Conference League roster. It was then revealed on Wednesday that the Blues stripped Sterling’s number seven jersey to give it to new signing Pedro Neto. As a result, Sterling is looking for a permanent move away from Chelsea.

Maresca has now denied previous claims that he did not inform Sterling that he would be left out of their Premier League squad. The coach also announced that he is currently not working with…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/maresca-struggling-in-effort-to-ease-squad-concerns-at-chelsea/

Author : Chris Moore

Publish date : 2024-08-21 21:02:51

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