Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has singled out one individual in the first-team group who he thinks can be a more important player for them.
The Chelsea squad is filled with the kind of talent that many Premier League clubs envy, but it’s generally the same core of players starting most top-flight games.
Remarkably, the Blues did cut their numbers in the winter window by sending Joao Felix, Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Axel Disasi all out on loan. Incidentally, Chelsea loanee Felix scored on his AC Milan debut this week.
It’ll be very interesting to see the Chelsea starting line-up for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie away to Brighton, which fans may view as a moment to rotate.
Enzo Maresca confidently says Chelsea star can play a bigger role
During his weekly press conference, streamed via Chelsea’s YouTube channel, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca made some interesting comments about Christopher Nkunku.
It’s pretty clear that the Chelsea manager is confident that the 27-year-old attacker can grow into a more important figure at Stamford Bridge.
When asked if Nkunku could play a bigger role going forward, Maresca said: “For sure, for sure… Against West Ham he played more or less half an hour. Hopefully from now on he can get more minutes and help us.”
Maresca was then asked if Nkunku can show his best form at Chelsea. He added: “Absolutely, absolutely yes. We were sure before the transfer window that Christo was one of the player our intention was to keep him.”
It’s been a bit of a frustrating campaign for Nkunku so far. Even though the forward’s scored 13 goals in 30 games across all competitions, he’s only actually started three times in the Premier League.
| Competition | Appearnaces | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 20 | 2 | 1 |
| Conference League | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Conference League qualifiers | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Carabao Cup | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Jason Cundy worries that Nkunku could end up leaving Chelsea because of his struggle for minutes, but he stayed beyond a January window in which his future was heavily speculated about.
Will Christopher Nkunku get his chance?
It sounds like Maresca will be kinder to Nkunku with his minutes in the weeks ahead, but there’s still the ongoing issue about where he gets into the XI.
Of course, he’s not going to start in his preferred No.10 role because of Cole Palmer.
As a result, Nkunku can operate from the left wing, something he did as a substitute on Monday night against West Ham. Alternatively, he does occasionally lead the line as the central striker.
John Obi Mikel demands Nkunku starts at striker over Jackson for Chelsea because the latter is on a run of eight straight league matches without scoring.
Maresca’s comments today should serve as some encouragement for Nkunku, but we’ll still be a bit sceptical until we see him starting on a weekly basis.
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