The problem with having a squad as stacked with talent as Chelsea’s is that some get left out in the cold, but Enzo Maresca has shared his plans to give minutes to one squad player.
Enzo Maresca has managed to trim the fat off this Chelsea squad since arriving last summer.
He has been famously ruthless in his selections, most recently highlighted by the ‘bomb squad’ news regarding Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi. If Maresca doesn’t see a player as being in his plans, he won’t hesitate to remove them from the picture.
But that’s not the approach he wants to take with one squad player, who he suggests will have an impact this season in all competitions.
Enzo Maresca plans to give Filip Jorgensen more minutes for Chelsea this season
Brought in last summer as the third-choice keeper, Filip Jorgensen made the most of his opportunities between the sticks last season.
Maresca has made it clear that he will again be given minutes as the Blues compete on four fronts.
He says: “For sure, with the amount of games that we have, Filip is going to play games in the Premier League, in the Champions League, in the FA Cup and in the Carabao Cup.”
The 23-year-old joined from Villarreal after a stellar season in Spain, and has looked a capable goalkeeper for the Blues. He made 22 appearances last season, including 12 in the Conference League, and managed nine clean sheets.
There were plenty of doubts around Robert Sanchez’s future when the Premier League campaign ended, with some calling for Jorgensen to be handed the shirt.
But a fantastic Club World Cup campaign bought Sanchez at least another season as Chelsea’s number one.
Robert Sanchez will start against Bayern Munich
As mentioned, Jorgensen was given the nod in all but one of Chelsea’s European fixtures last season.
Maresca was asked if he would continue this practice now that the Blues are competing in the highest tier.
While he did mention the Champions League as a competition Jorgensen would get minutes in, he is sticking with his first-choice keeper for the opening tie against Bayern Munich.
Bayern’s home record in the Champions League is outstanding, and Chelsea will need to put in a PSG-esque performance to get anything from this tie. It seems the coach wants to give himself the best possible chance.
But hopefully, the promising Jorgensen doesn’t have to wait too long for his first minutes of the season.
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