'Chelsea set to lose new Didier Drogba over baffling Enzo Maresca decision'
03/20/2025 12:39 PM
Enzo Maresca is in line to lose Chelsea a possible star of the future after continually omitting him from the first-team.
Having left Leicester in the summer to take charge at Stamford Bridge, it has been a mixed first season with the Blues for the Italian.
Some respite has come for the club in the UEFA Conference League, where they are heavy favourites to lift the title.
The competition has seen Chelsea give senior game time to Shim Mheuka and a number of their other exciting young talents who have risen through the ranks of the academy, although Maresca’s management of the emerging Stamford Bridge talents has been criticised more than once.
However, one player who falls into that category has so far missed out entirely on those opportunities in Europe, which could seemingly now cost the club his services.
Chelsea in fight to keep Donnell McNeilly
Throughout his time rising through the youth ranks with the Blues, Donnell McNeilly has been a consistent source of goals in whatever age group he has played at.
Yet despite that, he has so far yet to be handed his first-team debut for Chelsea, in contrast with a number of his academy teammates.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, that decision by Maresca not to include him in the first-team is seen as “strange” by some.
That is particularly the case given Chelsea have been left short on centre-forward options after injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu, especially with McNeilly earning comparisons with Didier Drogba due to how he models his game on the Ivorian legend.
| Chelsea last five games | Result |
| Southampton (H) | Won 4-0 |
| Copenhagen (A) | Won 2-1 |
| Leicester (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Copenhagen (H) | Won 1-0 (won 3-1 on aggregate) |
| Arsenal (A) | Lost 1-0 |
The young attacker is currently set to be out of contract with the club at the end of this season, although they have offered him a new deal.
McNeilly however is yet to put pen to paper on that contract offered to him, with suggestions in this update that these two situations could be connected.
Enzo Maresca should consider giving Donnell McNeilly a chance
Football Insider Verdict
Given the huge promise he is showing at youth level, it would be hugely frustrating for the Blues to lose McNeilly before they have benefitted from his talents in the senior side.
Considering he has already seen so many of his peers handed first-team minutes by Chelsea, you can understand why the striker may want to know he himself will get those opportunities before signing.
If that does not happen, then the club are at risk of losing someone who could otherwise become a big asset for them for many years to come.
In that case, Maresca may be seen as at least partially responsible for them letting a talent slip through their fingers in this situation by not playing him.
Chelsea fans are already criticising Maresca for his use of Cole Palmer, among other things this season, and so this would only pile further scrutiny on the Italian.
With that likely to be something he is going to want to avoid, handing a chance to McNeilly in the first-team could be a sensible move for the Blues boss to make, both for the club’s good and his own.
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