Ben Chilwell has not been named in the Chelsea squad to face Manchester City – signalling the end of his Blues future.
The left-back has played just 64 minutes during pre-season under new boss Enzo Maresca and now looks set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Manchester United are reportedly interested in Chilwell, with their own England international full-back Luke Shaw set to miss the opening weeks of the Premier League due to injury.
The decision to drop Chilwell from the Chelsea match day squad to face Manchester City should come as no surprise, with Maresca outlining earlier in the week the ex-Leicester City star would be allowed to leave. But he was one of four big games to miss out for the club’s opening fixture of the new season.
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Raheem Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka and Axel Disasi also failed to make the bench, with England international Sterling releasing a statement demanding an explanation and calling for ‘clarity’. Like Chilwell, he has been linked with a move away and that speculation will now only intensify.
Speaking about Chilwell’s situation in a press conference on Friday, Maresca said the fullback had been suffering from illness. He said: “With Chilly it’s quite clear, I love the way he trains, I love the way he is but the problem is that he struggles with us a little bit to find his best position.
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(Image: PA)
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“When you train everyday and you don’t get minutes, it’s not good for them and it’s not good for me because I need to make decisions. For some players, it’s sometimes better to leave and to go somewhere to get minutes. We will see what happens, the transfer window is open and we will see what happens.”
The 27-year-old endured a torrid season last term with injuries and poor form seeing him miss out on making the England squad for the European Championships in Germany, despite the Three Lions desperately needing a left-back with Luke Shaw’s fitness issues. Marc Cucurella, fresh off impressive for Spain, as well as Chelsea at the end of last season, looks to have secured his spot as the Blues first choice left back.
The former Leicester City man missed Chelsea’s last three pre-season games, and now the Blues are listening to offers for him, even though he hasn’t been relegated to Maresca’s ‘bomb squad’ – the group of players cut from the main squad. The manager has confessed that a whopping 15 of his squad members are stuck in no man’s land due to Chelsea’s massive 43-man headcount, admitting the situation is “not good”.