Enzo Maresca updates on Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell situation at Chelsea

09/13/2024 10:37 AM

Enzo Maresca has opened the door for Ben Chilwell to return to first-team training and says Carney Chukwuemeka still has a future at Chelsea.

Chilwell, who was appointed vice-captain at the start of last season, was told in the summer that he had no future at Stamford Bridge and was forced to train away from the first-team squad.

However, the 27-year-old failed to secure a move in the summer transfer window and now looks set to remain at Chelsea until January.

Chilwell has been left out of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League squad but Maresca has now said that the left-back could at least return to training with his teammates.

‘Ben is now probably the only one who is still here, so we will sit with him and find solutions,’ Maresca said.

‘He is probably going to be back with us in the training sessions. We will see.

‘At the moment, he is not training with us. But from now on we need to sit with him and find the right solution.

‘The reason why he’s training apart is because the idea was for him to leave but because we didn’t find a solution he’s probably going to start to train with us, we need to decide that.

‘In the moment if we decide that, he will be one of the players.’

Asked how Chilwell is mentally, Maresca replied: ‘I think he’s good, to be honest.

‘As I said, he’s not training with us, but I can see, I saw him this morning, he is okay.’

Maresca also confirmed that Chukwuemeka will be part of his plans after failing to secure a move away from Chelsea.

‘I said already to him personally and I said already to you in the press conference, I really, really like Carney,’ Maresca said.

‘The problem is that we have so many attacking midfielders that he’s going to struggle to find space and for me, because of his past in terms of injury, the best thing to do was to go in some team to prove himself that he’s fit, and he can play 30, 35 games and then come back here.

‘Unfortunately, we didn’t find any solution so now he’s one of the players in our squad and we can use him.’

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