Enzo Maresca claims he’s ‘very happy’ with £30m Chelsea player with zero Premier League starts this season

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has voiced his support for a first-team player who’s struggling for minutes in the Premier League under him.

So far this season, Enzo Maresca has taken the interesting approach as Chelsea manager to split his squad into two sides. The ‘A-team’ have been impressing in the Premier League to get the Blues up to third in the division table, while the ‘B-team’ have been free-scoring in the cup competitions.

As a result, there’s several high-profile individuals in the group without too many league appearances this season.

Darren Bent rates how Maresca is using the Chelsea squad and keeping morale high by spreading the load across all competitions.

Next, Maresca returns to former club Leicester City on Saturday afternoon for their next league outing.

• READ MORE: What multiple Chelsea sources are now saying about Enzo Maresca’s future at the club

Enzo Maresca supports Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Like Maresca, Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall also swapped Leicester for Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The 26-year-old central midfielder was a key player for the Foxes last year in the Championship, but he’s found the competition at Chelsea a lot harder. Despite playing 10 games across all competitions this campaign, he’s not started a single league match yet.

Speaking ahead of the weekend’s game, Maresca has said he’s still happy with Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea and suggests his time will come.

“Kiernan was, at Leicester, the most important player. He moved to Chelsea to be one other player. You have to accept that,” Maresca said, as quoted by The Daily Mail.

“Probably at the beginning, you struggle to accept that. Now it’s getting better. Me as a manager, I am very happy with Kiernan, no doubt. But for sure for him, he has to continue to work, wait for the chance and take it, in the way he is doing in the Conference League. He is doing OK.”

Dewsbury-Hall won’t celebrate if he scores versus Leicester, but will he even get on the pitch this weekend at the King Power Stadium?

The English left-footer knows Maresca’s system inside out after working under him in the East Midlands. It’s been hard for him to compete with teammates such as Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia in midfield, though.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall this season

While many expected Dewsbury-Hall to hit the ground running in his debut season with Chelsea, it’s actually been quite subdued and frustrating for him.

The £30m midfielder (BBC) can barely get a look-in when it comes to the Premier League, with his most recent top-flight appearance coming back in September. Therefore, he’s been left to try to catch the eye in the cups.

Unless something drastic changes, it’s hard to picture Dewsbury-Hall forcing his way into the best Blues XI.

Dewsbury-Hall has brought a positive energy to Cobham, which is a testament to his work rate and character, but there’s simply better players above him in the pecking order.