The task of a modern Premier League manager is to coach the players he received.
The days are long over, for better or worse, if Howard Wilkinson would pick up the phone to call Alex Ferguson about signing Denis Irwin to eventually sell Eric Cantona to Manchester United.
With that in mind it was surprising to see Enzo Maresca publicly and hear talk about why Chelsea still needs to sign a center-back while admitted that they are looking for “internal solutions”.
As Maresca sees, Chelsea has to sign someone to cover Levi Colwill while recovering from a serious knee injury. The only problem is that Maresca is the Chelsea head coach and he is not responsible for the transfer policy.
Although he is a brilliant tactician with a proven track record in winning trophies and improving and developing players, he does not have the last word about who buys and sells Chelsea. The people who are in charge of that – the Chelsea football leadership team – may not share his position on signing another defender.
Their task is to build a team of elite players who can deal with any possibility, including an injury in the long term for an important player. Based on the fact that Chelsea won two trophies last season, including the Club World Cup, and qualified for the Champions League, they seem to do very well – and Maresca.
That is an opinion that must be shared by the owners of Chelsea, because why would they otherwise expand the contracts of the sports directors of the club and recruitment leaders on the eve of a new season?
The bottom line is that Chelsea has the feeling that they have an elite team that consists of the right mix of young people and experience. Recruitment is driven by the sports team and they have totally confidence in the team they have assembled over a series of windows.
They will not sign another center-back this summer, despite the injury of Colwill, and the only way that will change is if a central defender of the first team of squadon is sold in the next two weeks. Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi, who do not train with the first team, are already ready to leave, so it would still cost a departure for Chelsea to sign a center-back.
Chelsea may have one of the deepest squadrons in the Premier League and there is a lack of options of the required standard available in the current market. Another reason why they will not panic is that signing another defender would only take away because of the importance of playing from the emerging center backs of the club.
In any case, it is expected that Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong will get up to play in the role of Colwill and Maresca has 10 defenders in his team and nine who can play as a central back, including Jorrel Hato, who moved from Ajax last month.
Tosin, who is doubt for the Crystal Palace game, is seen in the club as an elite defender with great leadership qualities, while Achampong has the potential to be one of the breakout stars of the season.
About seven or eight clubs have already tried to sign the 19-year-old and big things, this season are also expected from Aaron Anselmino, who is only a year older. Signing another Center-back can also cause problems with the balance of the team when Colwill returns.
Maresca needs to know all of this, so why does he speak in public about wanting to sign another center-back?
A reason could be that he feels more encouraged to give his opinion now that he has won two trophies. That will probably not work to his advantage because Chelsea's recruitment strategy will not be driven by what their head coach says in public, regardless of how many trophies he wins.
Another theory is that he does it to lower expectations and to take a little pressure on his own and his players before the start of a big season. He did something similar a few times last season when he denied that Chelsea was in the title race and also that he had been given the target to qualify for the Champions League in his first season.
Maybe Maresca is just honest and tries to give straight answers to straight questions. That makes a good copy and is great news for journalists, but in modern football the freedom of expression has become a privilege for employees, not a fundamental law.
Chelsea Transfers
In
Jamie Gittens – Dortmund, £ 51.5 million
Joao Pedro – Brighton, £ 60m
Liam Delap – Ipswich, £ 30 million
Jorrel Hato – Ajax, £ 38.5 million
Estevao Willian – Palmeiras, £ 29m
Dario Essugo – Sporting, £ 18.5 million
Mamadou SARR – RC Strasbourg, £ 12m
Kendry Paez – Independente del Valle, £ 17.3m
Out
Kendry Paez – Strasbourg, Loan
Djordje Petrovic – Bournemouth, £ 25m
Bashir Humphrey – Burnley, not announced
Marcus Bettinelli – Man City, not announced
Kepa Arrizabalga – Arsenal, £ 5m
Mathis Amougou – Strasbourg, not announced
Zak Sturge – Millwall, not announced
Noni Madueke – Arsenal, £ 52 million
Caleb Wiley – Watford, Loan
Mike Penders – RC Strasbourg, Loan
Joao Felix – Al Nassr, £ 43.7m
Ishe Samuels -Smith – Strasbourg
Kiernan Dewsbury -hall – Everton, £ 29m
Lesley Ugochukwu – Burnley, not announced
Marc Guiu – Sunderland, Loan
Armando Broja – Burnley, not announced