It’s safe to say that Ben Chilwell won’t be in the squad tomorrow when Chelsea hosts Manchester City. And if the right transfer option comes along here in the next couple weeks, he may have played his last match in a Blues shirt.
Rarely will you ever hear or see a quote this painfully honest in the football world.
Season Opener FYIs
Chelsea FC vs Manchester City
Kickoff: Sunday Aug. 18, 4:30pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Team News: Chelsea FC Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea FC Manchester City
This is really something to behold, a coach being extremely blunt about his own player, and then going on to say that said player has no place in his squad.
“Chilly is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill,” said Enzo Maresca, who will manage his first competitive match with Chelsea on Sunday.
“The reason he did not play [in a pre-season friendly] versus Inter was because, with Chilly it is quite clear, even though I love the way he is, the problem is, he is struggling a bit to find the right position.”
“This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask all of them they will say they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible. When you train every day and do not get any minutes it is not good for them or for me.
“I need to make a decision and probably it is better to leave and go and get minutes. The transfer window is open so we’ll see what happens.”
Wow! It doesn’t get any more cutthroat than that. No grey areas there. Chilwell, who was a vital part of Chelsea’s Champions League winning squad from 2020-21, is a quality left back.
Yes, he has had some struggles this preseason, and it’s true that his tenure at Chelsea has been somewhat injury-riddled, but he’s a good overall player. The former Leicester City man will no doubt found plenty of potential suitors in the open market.
Also, the strong desire to immediately jettison Chilwell just reinforces the perception that Chelsea is overly-churning their player roster. Not to mention that this kind of rhetoric drops his transfer sale price too.
Potential buyers know that Chelsea are desperate to unload him.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.