‘Alienated players’ - Enzo Maresca warned about potential future problem at Chelsea

Alan Shearer thinks Enzo Maresca might find maintaining squad satisfaction more difficult as Chelsea progress through the season when games grow in importance and the schedule becomes less busy.

The Blues boss, in the main, currently uses two different teams for Premier League and cup games, having the luxury of an inflated squad steeped in talent. The likes of Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia have even been omitted from the official Europa Conference League squad for match-load management purposes.

Those not in the first-choice Premier League squad have had ample opportunity for game time across eight cup games already, including the two European play-off games played back in August.

READ MORE: Jadon Sancho contract clause sees Chelsea put Man Utd in very difficult position

READ MORE: I saw Jadon Sancho Chelsea goal - he did something he was never allowed to at Manchester United

However, defeat to Newcastle United in the League Cup in October has reduced the number of cup matches, albeit Chelsea begin their FA Cup campaign next month when they host Morecambe in the third round.

Nevertheless, Shearer believes Maresca potentially faces disruption to squad harmony towards the back end of the campaign when big players are inevitably not handed the minutes they crave.

Appearing alongside Shearer on the Rest Is Football podcast, Micah Richards delivered praise to Maresca for being brave enough to make some brutal calls. “I think Maresca has come in and just settled everything down,” the former defender said.

“He came in and made those bold decisions early on where he sort of alienated players and said they were not part of the squad - I remember it was [Raheem] Sterling, [Trevoh] Chalobah and [Conor] Gallagher. He’s come in and been bold. And then believing in the players he had, stuck with a system and it’s working for them."

However, Shearer warned: “I think it will be difficult moving on, you’ve got that many players to pacify and keep all of those players happy.

“At the minute, he’s doing a really good job and for his sake I hope it continues. But I think it will be more difficult when they get to bigger games, in terms of cup finals or the big games, trying to keep everyone happy.”