Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has brutally revealed that Ben Chilwell is better off leaving as the club look to continue their summer clean-up.
Chilwell was appointed vice-captain of the Blues by former boss Mauricio Pochettino at the start of last season, acting as understudy to Reece James.
The left-back captained the team regularly amid James’ injury problems last season, but his own fitness issues limited him to 21 appearances in all competitions.
Maresca signalled his intention to leave his authority over the Chelsea squad this summer when the new manager installed Enzo Fernandez as vice-captain in place of Chilwell.
The Italian revealed ahead of the Premier League opener against Manchester City that Chilwell is struggling to find a place in his team.
Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has been told he would be “better off” leaving the club this month
Coach Enzo Maresca spoke candidly about the defender’s future ahead of the new season
Chilwell could be another high-profile casualty as Chelsea look to offload players this month
Maresca said it would be better for the England international, one of the club’s veteran players, to leave this summer.
“Chilly is with us but he hasn’t been training for the last few days because he’s been sick,” Maresca said.
‘The reason he didn’t play (in a pre-season friendly) against Inter was because, with Chilly it’s pretty clear, although I love the way he is, the problem is that he’s having a bit of trouble finding the right position.
‘This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask them all they will tell you they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible.
‘When you train every day and you don’t have any minutes it’s not good for them or for me.
“I have to make a decision and it’s probably better to leave and get minutes. The transfer market is open, so we’ll see what happens.”
Chilwell has made 106 appearances in total for the Blues since joining the club in a £50million move from Leicester in 2020.
The full-back was part of the team that won the Champions League in 2021.
Chilwell won the Champions League in his first season in 2021 but now looks set to leave
The English international was replaced as Chelsea vice-captain by Enzo Fernandez
The 27-year-old signed a new contract in April last year, extending his contract until the summer of 2027.
Chilwell had revealed he was “really pleased that the club want me to be part of the long-term project” when agreeing his contract extension.
Now it looks like he will be another of the important casualties amid the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge this summer.
Earlier this month, the Blues reportedly banned Trevoh Chalobah from using the club’s first-team training facilities as they attempt to facilitate a move for the defender.
Mail Sport reported last month that Chalobah, who joined Chelsea aged eight and has made 80 appearances for the club, feels he is being forced out of Stamford Bridge.
The defender has been joined in the Under-21 squad by fellow Blues academy graduate Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku, with Chelsea also looking to move for those two forwards this summer.
Chelsea are believed to think this is the best way to deal with unwanted players who have no future at the club, allowing them to focus on a transfer, rather than giving them false hope.
Maresca also revealed that Conor Gallagher, another academy graduate, has been training alone as the club look to sort out a deal with Atletico Madrid.
Gallagher came close to joining the Spanish club this summer, even travelling to Madrid, but complications surrounding Samu Omorodion’s proposed transfer to Chelsea halted the deal at the last minute.
Trevoh Chalobah has been training with Chelsea’s Under-21 team ahead of a possible transfer
Conor Gallagher has been training alone in doubt about whether to sign for Atletico Madrid
Maresca admitted that “it is not good” to have so many players out of first team training sessions
As a result, the midfielder found himself on a flight back to England with his future uncertain. However, Gallagher is said to be “trying to find a solution” with the Premier League giants.
Chelsea currently have a bloated squad of 43 first-team players, and Maresca revealed that 15 have been training away as the club look to find transfers for them to new clubs.
Speaking about the size of his squad, Maresca said: “At the moment if I start to think that I have 43 players it’s not a good thing, I have 28 training with me.”
The Chelsea manager added: “Paul and Laurence are the ones in charge of finding solutions for these lads, not me.”