Sports
‘No Player is Irreplaceable’ – Maresca Warns After Dropping Fernandez
The Argentine World Cup winner has recently been relegated to Chelsea’s second-string team for cup matches, missing out on starts in the last two Premier League games.
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Fernandez, who joined Chelsea in January 2023 for £107 million ($138 million) from Benfica, is currently sidelined in favour of the younger Romeo Lavia, whom Maresca prefers as a midfield partner for Moises Caicedo.
“I still trust him (Fernandez),” Maresca said on Friday. “There’s no reason in the world I can lose confidence in him.
“The reason he isn’t playing in the Premier League is that in this moment I take different decisions, but my confidence is 100 per cent with Enzo.”
Fernandez has served as Chelsea’s captain this season in Reece James’ absence, but Lavia’s rise has pushed him down the pecking order, with the manager pointing to a need for more physical presence.
“I like to say there are players that are fantastic, but for me we don’t have indispensable players,” said Maresca.
“If Cole (Palmer) is not playing for any reason, we play Joao (Felix). If Nico (Nicolas Jackson) is not playing, we play Christo (Christopher Nkunku). There is not one that we cannot change.
“The reason we change players is because we think that all of them are good. Some of them are better than the rest, but it doesn’t mean they are always the ones that are going to play.”
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Reports from Spain suggest that Real Madrid could pursue a move for Enzo Fernandez through a cash-plus-player deal.
However, Maresca, whose team is set to face Manchester United on Sunday, stated that Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo have not yet firmly established themselves in the midfield.
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