It is the summer of 2024, and Enzo Maresca has been announced as Chelsea’s new boss after guiding Leicester City to the Championship title. But none of his players won the Championship’s POTY award.
In his first season as a manager in England, Maresca achieved something many deem one of the hardest achievements – winning automatic promotion from the Championship. Leicester secured 97 points.
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Obviously, Maresca would leave that summer and join Chelsea, where the Italian would remain as boss for 18 months. Despite the immediate upstage from Leicester to Chelsea, he signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
But the now-Everton midfielder was not the only player he tried to sign that had starred during the race for Championship promotion in 2023-24. Crysencio Summerville won the Player of the Season award.
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An impressive 29 goals and assists in the Championship saw Summerville win the award, even if Leeds failed to secure promotion during Daniel Farke’s first full season as manager of the Yorkshire club.
Summerville, however, would join West Ham. After a poor first season, the Hammers winger had a hand in 12 goals for West Ham last season. A bright light in a dark season for West Ham, as they were relegated.
Despite going down, Summerville has since starred for the Netherlands at the World Cup – scoring two goals in the group stages. The pocket-sized winger’s form has not gone unnoticed by those at Cobham.
Chelsea are supposedly in the market for a new left-sided winger, and amid reported interest in Jarrod Bowen, The Telegraph claim Chelsea are also making checks on former Leeds winger Summerville.
It could see Chelsea raid West Ham for two of their best players following the Hammers’ relegation under Nuno Espirito Santo. But Xabi Alonso will have to make some decisions out wide if that is the case.
Chelsea already have five first-choice wingers to choose from
The Blues already have Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens on the left, while Pedro Neto is the first choice ahead of Estevao and new signing Geovany Quenda on the right. Loanees could return as well.
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Chelsea have been linked with both this summer.
Tyrique George will return from Everton, though a permanent sale is likely, and Nicolas Jackson could well play on the left. Then there is Mykhailo Mudryk, who remains banned and is waiting to make a return.
The bottom line is this. Chelsea have many options out wide but in truth, none of them have been able to show they are good enough for Chelsea. Estevao has potential; Quenda remains an unknown quantity.
If Chelsea are to pursue moves for either Summerville or Bowen, or indeed any other wingers in the coming weeks and months, Alonso will need to pick which players need to be sold to make some room.
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