The future of a Chelsea star is now in doubt with La Liga giants Barcelona prepared to make an “audacious” swoop and steal him away from Stamford Bridge, despite Enzo Maresca’s admiration of the player.
Players on the brink of leaving Chelsea
There are a good few members of Maresca’s squad facing quite uncertain futures in west London, as they also attract interest from Europe and closer to home.
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Chief among them is out-of-favour left-back Ben Chilwell, who has played just 45 minutes in all competitions this term – a brief cameo against English minnows Barrow in the Carabao Cup.
The Englishman, who was one of the captains under Mauricio Pochettino, has failed to make a single Premier League matchday squad and wasn’t named in their Europa Conference League list either – with Maresca deeming Chilwell surplus to requirements.
Arsenal (home)
November 10
Leicester City (home)
November 23
Aston Villa (home)
December 1
Southampton (away)
December 4
Tottenham (home)
December 8
Chilwell is attracting interest from Serie A, La Liga and clubs in England, though, so the £200,000-per-week defender has plenty of options for when he inevitably quits Chelsea, following nearly half a decade of service.
Meanwhile, another player who seems destined to leave Chelsea is young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka. It is believed the likes of Barcelona and AC Milan are targeting Chukwuemeka, who has failed to establish himself as a regular for the Blues since joining them from Aston Villa in 2022.
The likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi have also been tipped for the exit door in recent months, with the trio not exactly firm favourites under Maresca, but a more high-profile name who is being mentioned as a candidate to leave is now marquee signing Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentine World Cup winner, who cost BlueCo around £107 million to sign from Benfica last year, recently lost his place alongside Moises Caicedo to Romeo Lavia in the midfield – prompting concern over the player.
Fernandez has endured a torrid private life off the field, with Maresca giving the 23-year-old public backing amid questions over his position in the team.
“At this moment Enzo is not playing but there is no problem with Enzo,” said Maresca on Fernandez’s future at Cobham.
“The noise about Enzo is because clubs pay so much money for them, people expect they will always be the best. That is not so. The only reason he is not playing is just because the physicality I prefer is from (Moises) Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.”
Barcelona prepared to swoop for Fernandez amid Chelsea doubt
However, despite Maresca’s backing, it is believed Fernandez’s future at Chelsea has been plunged into doubt.
That is according to The Sun, who write that while the midfielder is happy in London, that could certainly change if he’s relegated to the bench on a regular basis over the coming season.
It is “increasingly unclear” whether he will stay at Chelsea long-term, with Barcelona and Inter Milan now prepared to make an ambitious move for Fernandez as they seek to take advantage of the situation.
Barca have been linked with Fernandez by other media sources recently, like reliable journalist Simon Phillips, so this could be one to watch.
“He is a world champion player,” said Mauricio Pochettino of Fernandez during his time in charge.
“Look, when he signed one year ago, he arrived after nearly two years with no holidays, no rest, with the pressure, still young, different environment, different language, different culture, a team that needs time to build. All of these types of circumstance, you need time.”