Why Enzo Maresca thinks Wesley Fofana is ‘untouchable’ at Chelsea despite injury problems

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This season, Wesley Fofana has been one of the first names on the teamsheet at Chelsea.

Before his hamstring injury, Wesley Fofana had only missed one game in the Premier League, and that was because of suspension.

Simply put, the central defender has been a key player for Enzo Maresca, but the 44-year-old is now having to cope without him.

As a result of that hamstring injury, Fofana could miss months of football. It is a huge blow for Maresca, who had made the Frenchman an integral part of his team.

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Enzo Maresca thinks Wesley Fofana is one of the best defenders in England

Despite his constant injuries, Maresca believes that Fofana is one of the best defenders in England, according to journalist Matt Law.

It is why the Chelsea head coach views the 24-year-old as one of the untouchables in his team.

Speaking on the London Is Blue podcast, Law revealed: “Fofana’s a huge blow. I know for a fact that Enzo… you know, he has some untouchables in that team, obviously [Levi] Colwill being the biggest one.

“[Moises] Caicedo’s certainly one of them and Fofana’s one of them. He rates Fofana as one of the best defenders, particularly in his system, in the entire country.”

With Fofana sidelined, Chelsea could try to sign a new centre-back this month. Chelsea re-signing Marc Guehi has not been ruled out, for example.

Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill were complementing each other very well

Fofana and Colwill was Maresca’s first-choice centre-back pairing and it was working well up until the former’s injury.

It gave Chelsea balance at the back, something lacking when the left-footed Benoit Badiashile has had to come in for Fofana.

Fofana and Colwill also boast very similar defensive stats, showing that they were both getting the job done together.

For example, Fofana is making 3.9 clearances per game in the Premier League this season, while Colwill is making 3.3. They are the two-highest averages in Chelsea’s squad.

Losing Fofana has been a blow. In his absence, Chelsea have slid down to fourth and just do not look the same without him. It is no surprise, then, that the club are considering signing a new centre-half as Fofana’s injury problems refuse to go away.

Whether they can land another experienced Premier League defender like Guehi, though, remains to be seen.