Latest news with #Maresca
Metro
27 minutes ago
- Sport
- Metro
Enzo Maresca sends transfer message to Chelsea defender
Enzo Maresca has confirmed at least two clubs have registered an interest in Chelsea youngster Josh Acheampong. The 19-year-old featured regularly in last season's triumphant Conference League campaign but is keen for more regular first team football. Acheampong started in Wednesday's Club World Cup win over ES Tunis and his versatility is likely to be of use to Maresca in the remainder of the tournament if Chelsea go deep into the competition. The player's long-term future, however, is less assured particularly with several high-profile European clubs monitoring his situation. When it was put to Maresca that both Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund 'liked' Acheampong the Chelsea boss did little to downplay their interest. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. He said: 'The clubs that you mentioned like Josh but we also like Josh. All the good players any club like good players. 'My plan with Josh is quite clear. I think potentially he can be a top defender for this club, it's on him to also have the right timing to do the things. 'We are full of young players full of talent, even defenders. The best plan for Josh is to be with us and I'll be very happy if he is with us.' Maresca was less emphatic when it came to discussing the future of Trevoh Chalobah who spent the first part of last season on loan at Crystal Palace. More Trending An injury crisis saw Chelsea controversially recall the 25-year-old who went on to play a key part in the Blues' successful end to a turbulent campaign. He said: 'In this moment all the players that are with us I don't want to lose them, but we have said many times that when the transfer window is open many things can happen, to buy a player or to sell a player. 'Trevoh came back to us in January, if we did a Champions League spot and top four spot it's also because of Trev, he helped us a lot. 'In this moment he also plays some games for us, we are happy with him. Anything can happen but not only for Trev but all 25 players in the squad.' MORE: Chelsea star could push for transfer after Arsenal and PSG interest MORE: Dortmund interested in £35m Chelsea star as Jamie Gittens transfer gets closer MORE: Arsenal consider surprise bid for £32m Chelsea star
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Enzo Fernandez will be even better next season
The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8million two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday. Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday. Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: 'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy. 'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play. 'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. 'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. 'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.' Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one. The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance. Maresca said: 'His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo's position than Romeo's (Lavia) position. 'The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.' Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. He said: 'My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.' Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees. He said: 'All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.' Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica. He said: 'It's going to be a balanced game, a tough game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Enzo Fernandez will be even better next season
The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8million two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday. Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday. Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: 'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy. 'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play. 'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. 'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. 'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.' Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one. The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance. Maresca said: 'His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo's position than Romeo's (Lavia) position. 'The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.' Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. He said: 'My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.' Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees. He said: 'All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.' Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica. He said: 'It's going to be a balanced game, a tough game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.'
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Enzo Fernandez will be even better next season
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expects Enzo Fernandez to get even better as he prepares for a reunion with his former club Benfica. The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8million two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday. Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday. Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: 'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy. 'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play. 'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. 'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. 'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.' Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one. The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance. Maresca said: 'His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo's position than Romeo's (Lavia) position. 'The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.' Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. He said: 'My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.' Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees. He said: 'All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.' Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Enzo Fernandez will be even better next season
But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup. Chelsea face Benfica on Saturday (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday. Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday. Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: 'I'm very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he's a nice boy. He's polite, he's a good boy. 'Then he's worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play. 'But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. 'I've said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. 'So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.' Enzo Maresca has stressed the need to be patient with Andrey Santos (Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA) Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one. The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance. Maresca said: 'His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt. 'In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo's position than Romeo's (Lavia) position. 'The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.' Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. He said: 'My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.' Trevoh Chalobah's future has been the subject of speculation (John Walton/PA) Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees. He said: 'All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.' Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica. He said: 'It's going to be a balanced game, a tough game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.'
