As was expected at the start of the season, the size of Chelsea’s squad was going to make it impossible for every player to get the minutes they desired.
Already, reports of players being frustrated at their playing time under Enzo Maresca have surfaced.
Christopher Nkunku is reportedly unhappy with how little he is playing in the Premier League at the moment.
Those outside of the starting XI have been forced to take their opportunities where available in cup competitions, and the next opportunity for that is Thursday evening against Heidenheim in Europe.
One player who has been forced to wait for his minutes there is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, after following Maresca to Stamford Bridge from Leicester over the summer.
Chelsea tipped to sell Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after just one season
It was easy to link the new head coach as a reason for why the deal occurred, although that may not be the case.
The midfielder is yet to start in the Premier League, and seems to be way behind the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the manager’s thoughts.
Journalist Graeme Bailey has predicted to The Chelsea Chronicle that Dewsbury-Hall could well be sold after just one season at the club.
He said: “Maresca knew about him and knew he was a quality player. It was a very strange deal. I don’t think he’s going to be at Chelsea at the start of next season. It is what it is.
“He’s not the only one it will happen to. Chelsea are well set in that department.”
Enzo Maresca wants Enzo Fernandez to learn from Dewsbury-Hall
One of the players who is in front of the Englishman in the pecking order is Enzo Fernandez, who scored in his return to the starting side against Leicester.
Goals have not been as frequent as many would like for the World Cup winner at Stamford Bridge, and Maresca’s comments after the game hinted he was looking for him to follow in Dewsbury-Hall’s footsteps from last season.
He said: “Today, I thought, was the right game to use Enzo, even if he was back [late] from international duty. I think he did very well.
“I’m trying to convince Enzo [to play] in the same way as I did last year with Ndidi and Kiernan, that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box. The reason why he scored today was because he was inside the box.
“And, if he was outside of the box, he wouldn’t have scored the goal. We are happy in the way Enzo is doing.”
Dewsbury-Hall scored 12 goals last season in the Championship, and has already got off the mark in the Conference League for his new side.
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