Enzo Maresca has provided some detail on why Carney Chukwuemeka was absent from Chelsea’s squad this week in the European victory against Gent.
Chelsea made a winning start in the Conference League group stages on Thursday night by beating Gent 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were all on the scoresheet in the impressive home win. Interestingly, Chelsea fans argued Dewsbury-Hall enjoyed his best game yet for them.
Unfortunately, Carney Chukwuemeka was missing from Chelsea’s matchday squad.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has only made one appearance so far this season, which was a late cameo in the League Cup against Barrow, so it was very disappointing to see him not involved against Gent on a night when there were 11 changes to the side.
Enzo Maresca update on Carney Chukwuemeka
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has now provided some clarity on why Chukwuemeka didn’t make the starting line-up or bench against Gent. It turns out that the English playmaker was a late withdrawal from the squad due to illness.
“Carney was in the squad [for Gent] but didn’t feel well during the night. He was ill, this is why he wasn’t in the squad [when the team-sheets came out],” Maresca said, as quoted by Chelsea’s official website.
Chelsea depth in midfield
We’ve seen that Chukwuemeka has ended up quite far down the pecking order under Maresca. In fact, the manager has been quite open about wanting and failing to loan him out in the summer.
Hopefully, the cup competitions can provide Chukwuemeka with the chance to play and show his quality.
Our concern for him is that Chelsea are extremely strong in the midfield, so his route into the second string, let alone the first XI, is tough.
Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei impressed in the Blues midfield versus Gent, while Joao Felix played in the No 10. As for the league starters, it’s currently Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer.
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