Danny Murphy insists £50m Chelsea player won’t get in their starting XI next season

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Danny Murphy doesn’t think Chelsea’s high-profile defender will be in their best starting XI for the upcoming season.

Chelsea’s current squad is stacked with talent across the board, including in the defensive positions.

However, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca has already highlighted some defensive issues that he’s encountered this summer. During a recent interview quoted by Football.London, Maresca addressed Chelsea’s high line when defending.

If Chelsea are going to enjoy a better year than last season, surely they’ll have to improve at the back. They ended up conceding 63 goals in the 38-game Premier League campaign.

• READ MORE: The three most likely ways Chelsea’s defence could line up in the Premier League next season

Danny Murphy doubts Ben Chillwell will start

TalkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy has said he doesn’t think Chilwell is going to be in Chelsea’s line-up moving forward. Instead, he thinks Blues teammate Marc Cucurella has the advantage.

Murphy told talkSPORT: “He’s (Chilwell) not going to play. Cucurella is going to play after the Euros he had and the end of the season. I think the Chelsea fans would rather Cucurella now.”

Worrying pre-season for Ben Chilwell

There’s no hiding away from the fact that pre-season has been concerning for Chilwell and his Chelsea future.

Chilwell was in the matchday squad for all six of Chelsea’s pre-season matches this summer, but he failed to start any game. In fact, the only two he even featured in were substitute appearances against Wrexham and Club America. Aside from that, he’s spent his summer watching from the bench, plus training with the squad.

It must have been so frustrating for £50m man (Sky Sports) Chilwell on the trip of the United States to regularly see Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto start out of position at left-back ahead of him.

During Chelsea’s final warm-up match on Sunday in the 1-1 draw with Inter Milan, Cucurella came straight into the XI after returning from his holiday. Renato Veiga then played the second-half at left-back and caught the eye. Chelsea fans raved about Veiga’s display against Inter.

It’s now been claimed by talkSPORT on Tuesday that Chilwell is frustrated and assessing his future.

If the English full-back knows he’ll be down the pecking order in the upcoming season, perhaps seeking a move away could be his best step.