Ben Chilwell drops Chelsea transfer hint as 'exit strategy' leaked and Enzo Maresca stance clear

Ben Chilwell appears to have dropped a hint on his future at Chelsea. The 27-year-old defender has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge for a while now after falling out of favour under Enzo Maresca.

Like many of the top managers in the Premier League, Maresca has been eager to overload his midfield with an inverted full-back to dominate possession. With the Italian eager to implement such a system in west London, the Blues signed Renato Veiga from Basel to shoulder the workload on Marc Cucurella.

As a result, Chilwell has been short of opportunities, featuring just once in a Carabao Cup third-round tie against Barrow. The England international failed to attract sufficient interest to find a new club in the summer despite Chelsea's best efforts.

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Speaking to reporters in August, Maresca was quizzed on his decision to omit Chilwell and Raheem Sterling from the west Londoners' squad for the UEFA Conference League. He said: "I'm not saying Raheem is not a good player but I prefer a different kind of winger.

"We have a big squad and it is impossible to give all of them minutes, so probably it is better to leave. Brutal? I just try to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before the City game and said he is going to struggle to get minutes with us. Chilwell is a lovely guy but because of his position he is going to struggle with us."

Then, in September, Maresca was pushed on the left-back's future. He added: "The idea for him was to leave. In the moment that he’s here, he’s one of the squad, he’s training. He will be in the squad tomorrow and hopefully we can give him some minutes."

Chelsea have impressed in Chilwell's absence, making great progress under Maresca's heavily possession-based football. With the upcoming transfer window just around the corner, the Blues will be expected to try and offload the defender again.

It appears that plans to sell Chilwell could already be in the works. On Wednesday, the Englishman broke a two-month silence on his Instagram feed, showcasing pictures with some family, friends and also colleagues at Cobham training ground.

In the comment section, a user, who was tagged playing paddle in one of Chilwell's pictures, left an intriguing message under the post. @rampa_keinemusik wrote: "Exit strategy loading…"

Interestingly, the Chelsea defender 'liked' the comment, sparking speculation online that he may be looking for a new club in January. As it stands, it remains to be seen what @rampa_keinemusik exactly meant by 'exit strategy', with their cryptic message open to interpretation.