Chelsea may have just confirmed first January transfer as Enzo Maresca problem clear

For the few senior Chelsea players involved against Astana in Thursday night's Conference League win, their selection told a story. In most cases it was more revealing than who wasn't there.

Due to the unique circumstances around the trip - not only to Kazakhstan but a further 800 miles away from Astana's home ground for a 3:30pm kick-off (UK time) in weather conditions comfortably below freezing - it was a heavily rotated squad. That is nothing unusual for Chelsea in this competition but Maresca went a step further here.

It is no exaggeration to suggest that he and the coaching staff are the only members who flew out to the middle of Asia likely to be playing any role in Sunday night's home Premier League clash with Brentford. Such will be the physical toll of eight hours on the plane either way before playing and a short sleep, Chelsea took almost no risks.

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Even Conference League regulars Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku were left at home while Noni Madueke - who didn't start against Tottenham - was also absent. Had Mykhailo Mudryk been fit then he may have travelled but the makeup of the 21-man group was more akin to an Under-21s fixture.

Four teenagers started the match alongside a more experienced centre-back pairing of Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo. Pedro Neto, who can't play against Brentford due to suspension, was on for the first half before being replaced with his side 3-0 up.

Carney Chukwuemeka made his first start for Chelsea since August 2023 and the second Premier League game of last season. He may well have been left to the bench if Cesare Casadei hadn't picked up a red card against Heidenheim.

The midfielder has yet to play in the league this season and is clearly outside of Maresca's plans. A January move is expected, even if it won't be to Milan, with football.london learning that neither a loan nor a permanent deal is on the cards.

For him, playing this match is just further proof of how far down the pecking order he is given the lengths Maresca went to in protecting his favoured stars. Chukwuemeka and the centre-backs were effectively placeholders and a buffer to using those Maresca is reliant upon for the undoubtedly more important Premier League matches come the weekend.

If Chukwuemeka is an outcast, though, then Ben Chilwell can hardly be considered a Chelsea player at all. He has made just one appearance all season having been part of the summer bomb squad, up for sale throughout.

No deal was completed for Chilwell, who Maresca eventually reintergrated into the squad at Cobham. Chelsea left the 27-year-old out of their Conference League squad for the group phase, regardless, and so he has been left to watch on from the sidelines.

Not even being able to play in games as low-key and rotation-heavy as an icy night in Astana is some fall from grace for Chilwell, who was at the peak of his powers in European competition previously under Thomas Tuchel. Those days are long gone and Maresca has instead started to turn towards players he views as being part of the future at Chelsea.

Even Chukwuemeka, 21, realistically has many good days ahead of him and could feasibly see them at Chelsea. Chilwell, on the other hand, is the wrong side of injuries and has spent more of his time at Stamford Bridge out of form than in it, which is a brutal reality for a senior player to accept.

Maresca hasn't had to address the former Leicester City man for some while now but made no attempt to hide his transfer plans. "The idea for him was to leave," the head coach said earlier this season before Chilwell's first and only appearance. "In the moment that he’s here, he’s one of the squad, he’s training."

That hasn't transpired to selection, even if the door was left open with Maresca adding: “Yes [he could play again], in the moment we need him, why not? I said already many times and I will say again that, as long as Chilly is with us, he is a Chelsea player. And if we need him, we give him a chance and minutes."

Maresca added that his treatment and comments around Chilwell departing might have been wrong. “We all make mistakes," he said. "Probably yes; probably no. I am here to take decisions. Sometimes they are good decisions and sometimes they are not good.

"The only thing I can say is that there is not any bad intention from me. It is just to see things and try to think about the best things for the club."

Chilwell is now one of several Chelsea players likely to be pushed towards a mid-season exit next month in the January transfer window. Not only for the benefit of the team but also the players themselves.

Chukwuemeka and Harvey Vale, who was a second-half substitute in Almaty, are others who will be considering their options. Casadei is in the same camp.