Enzo Maresca sends BRUTAL warning to Enzo Fernandez as manager disregards £107 million price tag
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca defended his decision of benching Enzo Fernandez during the club's last two EPL outings, rubbishing claims of problems.
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca defended his decision to bench Enzo Fernandez during the club's last two EPL outings. (via ChelseaFC.com)
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca opened up about his decision to bench midfielder Enzo Fernandez during the Blues last two EPL outings, against Liverpool and Newcastle. Moreover, he disregarded the Argentine’s hefty £107 million price-tag, while speaking on his recent exclusion.
Enzo Fernandez has been far from his best since making a record-breaking transfer to Chelsea in 2023 from Benfica. A World Cup winner with Argentina, the 23-year-old midfielder, however, had a place in Chelsea’s starting XI for the last two seasons while also captaining the side at time, until Enzo Maresca’s arrival.
The Italian manager benched the midfielder during their last two EPL outings. This has led to many pointing to a fallout between the manager and the player.
The former Leicester City boss spoke to reporters about Fernandez’s form as well as his transfer value. The Italian disregarded the midfielder’s high price-tag by explaining that it is the club’s responsibility and not the player’s, but also agreed that players often face an added pressure due to this.
Rubbishing claims that there are problems between him and Fernandez, Maresca defended his decision of not starting the Argentine by stating that he prefers Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia’s physicality.
If a club is willing to pay such an amount, that’s their responsibility, not the player’s. The only reason he is not playing is just because the physicality I prefer is from (Moises) Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Enzo Maresca on midfielder Enzo Fernandez (via ChelseaFC.com)
?❗️ Maresca: "At this moment, Enzo Fernandez is not playing… but there is no problem".
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 3, 2024
"He is doing well in the time we are giving him chances".
"The only reason he is not playing is just because the physicality I prefer is from Caicedo and Romeo Lavia". pic.twitter.com/F7AVGUelI1
Enzo Fernandez has, however, featured for Chelsea during their Carabao Cup and Conference League matches, and remains in contention for a place in the starting XI against Manchester United. His recent breakup with long-term partner Valentina Cervantes might also have contributed to his struggles.
Enzo Maresca advises Chelsea star boy Cole Palmer on how to become ‘one of the best players in the world’
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca provided advice to Cole Palmer for him to become one of the ‘best players in the world’ in no time. The young Englishman caught the Premier League by storm, having scored seven goals and provided five assists in just 11 appearances this season.
Ahead of the club’s crucial encounter against Manchester United, Maresca insisted that Palmer should adapt his play style to the new way of man-to-man marking. He urged Palmer to not get frustrated and reminded the forward that all the best players in the world are marked man-to-man. Moreover, he confidently exclaimed that teams have started worrying about Cole Palmer and his blistering form.
The next step for Cole (Palmer) is not to get frustrated when teams mark him man to man because all of the best players in the world are marked man-to-man.
Enzo Maresca to Cole Palmer (H/T GOAL)
The 22-year-old has also become a regular for the England national team and excelled over the past two seasons. He was the winner of the PFA Men’s Player of the Year and the EPL Young Player of the Season award last season.
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Siddhartha Roy
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