´It is better to leave´, says Chelsea boss Maresca as he shows Chilwell exit door

Ben Chilwell has been told it would be best to leave Chelsea by head coach Enzo Maresca ahead of their Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday.

Chilwell, who has made 106 appearances for the Blues since his reported £45m move from Leicester in 2020, has struggled with injuries in recent years.

The 27-year-old featured 21 times in all competitions last season, missing 26 games with a hamstring injury which was then followed by a knee issue.

His subsequent misfortune with injuries has seen him drop down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, with Marc Cucurella impressing with Spain at Euro 2024.

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Chilwell played 64 minutes in Chelsea’s six pre-season games, failing to feature in their final three fixtures before the new campaign against Real Madrid, Manchester City and Inter.

“Chilly [Chilwell] is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill,” Maresca said.

“The reason he did not play 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.”

Chelsea kickstart their campaign against reigning champions City on Sunday in what will be Maresca’s first competitive game in charge of the club.

The Blues have continued to add during the transfer window, with Wolves’ Pedro Neto the latest of nine new arrivals at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca now has over 40 players in his squad despite the loan departure of Lesley Ugochukwu and the permanent sale of Diego Moreira earlier this week.

“We spent 20 days in America with 28 or 29 players, so it was quite good to manage the squad,” Maresca added.

“Now we have guys who are not part of the squad and are training apart.

“At the moment, it is not difficult, but if I start to think I have 43 players, it’s not good.”

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