Enzo Maresca looks set to be without Aaron Anselmino when Chelsea face West Ham. The Blues will host the Hammers at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, just hours before the January transfer window slams shut.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have agreed to send Aaron Anselmino on loan to Olympique Marseille until the end of the season. The Blues signed the 19-year-old defender from Boca Juniors in the summer for £17m before sending him back to his boyhood club on loan until the new year.

Anselmino, who sees his contract at Stamford Bridge expire in June 2031, featured 18 times across all competitions for the Argentinian outfit last year, ending the season on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. The teenager returned to Cobham last month, joining Maresca's squad.

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Despite having been regularly involved in first-team training, Anselmino hasn't been given the chance to impress, with Trevoh Chalobah preferred in the backline. Romano claims the ball is now in Chelsea's court; the club must now decide how to manage their final loan spots.

The report states Atalanta are no longer in the race for the youngster after signing Stefan Posch from Bologna. Upon Anselmino's move to Chelsea, Juan Roman Riquelme backed him to become a 'great footballer' and a senior international for Argentina.

Speaking to ESPN, as quoted by the Evening Standard, the Boca Juniors president said: "He has developed a lot. With the growth, the head that he has and the desire to learn that he shows, he is on his way to being a great footballer. He is going to be a player for the national team. He is going to compete with the centre-backs."

In a separate interview with ESPN, Anselmino revealed he spoke with Enzo Fernandez upon his arrival in West London. He said: "I spoke with the Chelsea advisors. I spoke with Enzo Fernández when I went there. Everything is going very well, I'm very happy."

Last month, Maresca was quizzed on Anselmino's future at Chelsea. The Blues said: "He's another talent, another good player. Now the most important thing is that he arrives here and he adapts himself, he starts to find a house, settling in the right way.

"Then we need to give him time, because when you come from the other part of the world, you need to adapt, you need to see a new world, a new culture. But for sure we are going to try to help him to adapt as soon as possible."

When asked if Anselmino could be ready to feature for Chelsea, Maresca said: "If he's here it's because we think he's a good player and he can help us. But for sure he's very young and he's coming from Argentina, completely different culture, different football, different level. So he needs time for that."

With Anselmino yet to make his debut for the club, he now looks set to spend the remainder of the season on loan.