Enzo Maresca sent Christopher Nkunku transfer exit warning unless key thing changes at Chelsea
Chelsea have been warned that players struggling for game time, such as Christopher Nkunku, may look to leave the club if they are not given regular minutes.
Enzo Maresca has some tough decisions to make every week due to the size of the Blues' squad, with high profile players like Ben Chilwell and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall missing out on matchday squads altogether. Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Nkunku were among the stars named on the bench in Chelsea's last match against Nottingham Forest as it's just not possible for Maresca to play every single player.
Former Aston Villa forward Dean Saunders believes clubs may look to capitalize on this in the future and believes the Chelsea players not starting regularly will soon become frustrated. Speaking to BonusCodeBets.co.uk, Saunders said: "It probably isn’t realistic for Villa to sign Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott but I was trying to give an example. I’m looking at clubs who have really good players who aren’t getting a game.
“Chelsea, I’ve lost count of how many players they’ve got but they can’t all get in the team. They’re not only the best players in the country they’re from but they’re treated like the best ever from that country. They’ve also been the best players at the clubs they were at.
“They find it really difficult to sit on the bench for five or six games and not get a game. I’ve been a manager and this is where you start getting issues.” He added: “It (issues) cropped up when they played in the League Cup [against Barrow]. Nkunku scored a hat-trick. The manager left Nicolas Jackson out of the team, he rested him and then he put Nkunku in who scored three. Then when Chelsea play on Sunday against Brighton, he has to call Nkunku in and say ‘I’m sorry, I’m leaving you out, I’m putting Nicolas Jackson back in’.
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"At that moment, Nkunku knows no matter what I do, I’m not going to start in front of Jackson. With six games in, I can’t see a future at the club. As long as the manager keeps winning games, he’s got a bit of power. But if you lose two or three, players in that Chelsea dressing room all start getting a voice. That’s when they turn against you and that’s the problem when you have too many players.
“So, going back to your point. I’m sure there’s players at Chelsea that you could slide off of that. Arsenal are only paying a third of Raheem Sterling’s wages with Chelsea paying the rest. You probably can get a deal out of Chelsea right now."