Enzo Maresca has announced that two Chelsea players have been dropped from his squad despite no agreement on their departure being reached.
The Italian has had a tough job keeping the Blues' bloated squad happy this season. And that has led to a large number of stars receiving fewer opportunities than they would have liked.
It was thought that the FA Cup match against Morecambe this weekend would give a number of players in the squad a chance. But two players in particular – Ben Chilwell and Cesare Casadei – will not be in the squad when they leave Stamford Bridge, Maresca has confirmed.
During his pre-match press conference, the Chelsea boss said: “Chilwell, for him, he is considering leaving, so it is better not to use him and avoid injuries and things like this. The plan is not to use Ben tomorrow.”
On Casadei, Maresca added: “Cesare will not be in the squad. It's more or less the same situation as Ben. The plan is not to give him minutes if there is an opportunity for him to play.”
Chilwell, 28, has played just 45 minutes under Maresca this season and has not been part of a single Premier League squad. He seems certain to leave, but no agreement has been reached with another club yet.
Meanwhile, Italian midfielder Casadei has played slightly more after playing under Maresca during a loan spell at Leicester last season. But the vast majority of his minutes came from the Conference League. Napoli, Torino and his former club Leicester are all linked.
And while both Casadei and Chilwell could leave, the same can be said of the summer signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Reports suggest the midfielder could be loaned out, but Maresca still believes he has a long-term future at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Certainly he has a future with us. Also because if you want to loan out players, this has to be done from all sides; the players, the club and the manager. It's not just about what I want.
“Certainly, he should do that [fight for his place]without a doubt. I know Kiernan quite well and he will do that.”
Dewsbury-Hall joined Chelsea from Leicester for £30 million this summer. But he has yet to make a single Premier League start and has been ruled out of this weekend's match due to injury.
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