Chelsea will be for the majority of the coming campaign without defender Levi Colwill and Enzo Maresca believes that the transfer market can present a solution for the blues
Enzo Maresca demanded Chelsea to sign a new center-back after the serious knee injury that Levi Colwill has sustained, because two of the current crop of the club cannot replace the English international.
Speaking in a press conference prior to the Premier League opener this weekend against Crystal Palace, he said: “Levi is OK, he is aware that he has been a long loss for a long time. You know how important Levi has been for us last season, for the way we want to play.
“We have often said that we can create opportunities and attack in the right way if we are able to build in the right way. Levi was a large part of our structure, and now he is out and we are going to try to find a different solution. We try to find a solution internally, but the club knows exactly what I think.”
He added: “I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution, but as I said, the club knows exactly what I think.”
And Maresca underlined his need by claiming that no one else in the Chelsea team was able to play like Colwill does, except Tosin Abarabioyo, stating Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiaashile as two players who are not at work. He said: “When we build, we build with Levi in the middle. It is different from the player on the left.
“Last year we played 64 games and played 64 games with Levi and Tosin. Now Levi is out. The only one who can do that well is Tosin. But we have Premier League and Champions League [to compete for this season].
“They can adjust the rest. [Jorell] Hato is a new one, he never played as the man in the middle last season [for Ajax]. So it's not about being a central defender. Yes, [he is a] Central defender. Can he do that? It's different, it's not just about.
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“And we also have players who unfortunately, such as Wes of Benoît, have some problems at the moment. And this is why I said the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”