Maresca was hired as a Chelsea ally but is now getting too big for his boots
While Enzo Maresca breaks rank to bemoan Chelsea’s stance over signing him another new centre-back this summer, the Italian has been reminded that ‘in modern football, free speech has become a privilege for employees, not a fundamental right.’
Perhaps emboldened by his delivery of Champions League qualification and two major-ish trophies in his debut season, Maresca revealed he’s at odds with the Blues bosses over the addition of a centre-back following the injury to Levi Colwill ahead of their opening-day draw with Crystal Palace.
“We said many times that we can create chances and to attack in the right way, if we can build in the right way – Levi [Colwill] was a huge part of our build-up and now he is out,” Maresca said.
“We are trying to find a solution internally, but the club knows exactly what I think and we will see what happens. I think we need a central defender.”
Josh Acheampong was that “internal solution” on Sunday and impressed while also looking as though he wasn’t particularly suited to – or at least not quite ready for – the very specific role played by Colwill when Chelsea are in possession.
The BlueCo chiefs can cite Acheampong’s display as further evidence of there being no need to open the chequebook to sign further players that Maresca may want but they believe he doesn’t need.
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Tosin Adarabioyo is in line to return against West Ham to play the Colwill role, while Benoit Badiashile is another defender among nine still on the Chelsea books who can play at centre-back, along with Aaron Anselmino, even after Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi leave the club.
Jorrel Hato’s already been signed this summer for £35m and Sky Sports now claim that Chelsea will only push to sign another new centre-back if one of the current group makes way.
Maresca will argue that losing his best and most important defender on the eve of the season merits some action from the Chelsea hierarchy, but they in turn will suggest that the solution to every problem is not to spend more money.
Chelsea have just handed sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley new and improved contracts as reward for the work they’ve done in building an elite squad prepared for any eventuality, including an injury to a key player. And ‘Chelsea’s recruitment strategy is not going to be driven by what their head coach says in public, no matter how many trophies he wins’.
That’s the message from Chelsea, via Sky Sports, and it has been unequivocal.
The problem for Chelsea, assuming they see their manager publicly decrying them not backing him in the transfer market as an issue, is that Maresca doesn’t know any different. As far as we can tell – with over £500m spent on new players since he arrived last summer – everything Maresca has wanted, he’s been given.
And like a spoiled toddler in the sweets aisle of a supermarket being told “no” for the first time, his immediate impulse is to fight back against those who have denied him his wish.
We’re not saying Maresca is wrong to want a new centre-back – Colwill’s absence was telling against Palace – but Chelsea had to put their foot down at some point to teach their employee that you don’t always get what you ask for.
And the only effect of Maresca continuing to air dirty laundry in public is increased frustration at boardroom level in a manager they brought in as an ally but now appears to be getting a bit too big for his boots.
