ENZO Maresca only thinks about the Chelsea “bomb squad” when he gets a TEXT or tap on the shoulder to tell him another unwanted player has left.
The Blues boss admitted the first he knew about midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu being sold to Burnley was when a staff member told him the news the morning after the £23.2m deal was completed.
GettyEnzo Maresca only finds out about player sales when he gets a text or is tapped on the shoulder[/caption]
GettyMaresca was only told about Lesley Ugochukwu’s move to Burnley the morning after it was completed[/caption]
Ugochukwu had been training away from the first-team squad, along with fellow exiles like Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell.
Maresca said: “The situation, I think, is quite clear. They are training. I guess they are waiting for a solution.
“But when they leave, it’s just the club that they text me or they call me.
“It was just mentioned to me that Lesley joined Burnley.
“I have this kind of news from the club because I don’t pay attention to the ones that are training and need to leave.
“I just focus on how we prepare the session, how we can win games.”
For Maresca, it really is a case of out of sight, out of mind.
Chelsea have been busy selling and sending players out on loan to create a manageable squad for him.
How SunSport imagines Maresca’s text chats with Todd Boehly could look
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
As SunSport revealed, before the recent flurry of outgoings, the Blues had at least 46 first team players on their books.
Striker Armando Broja is set to follow Ugochukwu to Burnley, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has joined Everton.
Renato Veiga and Carney Chukwuemeka are also up for sale and training away from the first-team group.
Chelsea are facing a unique challenge after a back-to-front pre-season.
The players who won the Club World Cup had a three-week break before returning to training only on Monday this week.
The Blues are trying to find the balance between having a big enough squad to cope with the start of the new season and asking Maresca to manage too many players.
The Chelsea head coach said: “For sure, it’s much better to work with 25 players than more, than the biggest number.
“In this moment, we are working with the ones that we want. And we will see [what happens] from now until the transfer window is finished.”
GettyMaresca is trying to find the right balance when it comes to squad size[/caption]
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
