Enzo Maresca wants to keep £35m Chelsea player but club have opened talks about signing him

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The Chelsea manager has so far navigated having a stacked squad of quality players as well as he could do.

Enzo Maresca will have been more than aware of the situation he was coming into at Stamford Bridge, with the talented squad being added to by the likes of Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho.

The results speak for themselves so far. The Blues sit in second in the Premier League whilst leading the way in the Conference League.

Last night’s win over Southampton was an opportunity for Maresca to give a rare league start to some of those who have done most of their good work in the cup competitions.

Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix had involvement in goals, while Filip Jorgensen impressed greatly in his first start in the competition.

Enzo Maresca wants to keep Benoit Badiashile at Chelsea

One player who didn’t play despite perhaps thinking the opportunity was perfect for him was Benoit Badiashile, who was not one of the centre-backs brought into the starting side.

Talk has refused to go away of a potential move away for Badiashile, and just one Premier League start under his belt this season would suggest the manager is looking in another direction when it comes to his defensive pairing.

CaughtOffside have claimed that Marseille have opened talks about signing the Frenchman, with him clearly having the capabilities to play regular football in Europe.

However, the report goes on to say that Maresca would like to keep the defender in his squad, with him rating him highly.

Benoit Badiashile stats 24/24

While league appearances have been hard to come by, Badiashile has had no issues featuring in Europe this season, playing 90 minutes in all four games.

Injuries have played a torrid part in the centre-back’s time at the club since his £35m move, however he seems to have shook those problems off during this season.

Despite that, it is looking very difficult to displace Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana at the moment, and the fact he didn’t start last night could be a sign that he is not seen as close to the starting side as many would have thought right now.