Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca attended a press conference to answer questions from journalists ahead of their London derby with West Ham.
Chelsea has yet to lose on the road and recorded a crucial 1-0 win over Bournemouth last week without five key first-team players: Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Enzo Maresca has revealed that Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are available for selection against West Ham, but Reece James, Romeo Lavia, and Malo Gusto will not be available for the London Derby.
What did Enzo Maresca say?
Enzo Maresca said at a press conference: “Enzo is back, Kiernan is back, and Reece is still out. His injury has been delayed a bit.
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“The most important thing is that he returns when he is 100 per cent fit, but at the moment, he is still out.
“Romeo is very close, hopefully for the next game. Unfortunately, he needs more time.
“Malo is still out. He is not available for tomorrow’s game.”
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca has also hailed the versatility of his forwards.
He said that the versatility of his forwards—Noni Medueke, Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, and Marc—has contributed to the team’s squad depth.
The Italian said at a press conference: “As left wingers, we have Jadon and Misha. As right wingers, we have Noni and Pedro. As attacking midfielders, we have Joao and Cole. As a No9, we have Nicolas, Christo and Marc. We do not have so many players, we have two players for each position.
“Christo can play as a No9 or as an attacking midfielder and a winger. Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] can play in the pocket and wide. Pedro was playing as a left-winger because Jadon wasn’t here and fit and, between Misha, Pedro and Jadon, I preferred Pedro for that one game. But that doesn’t mean always I will prefer Pedro.
“So the squad is quite clear in terms of positions. All of them have their position, and we have two players in each position. But because they are versatile, good and can play in different positions, for sure we can move them. For example, Christo played the first game against Manchester City as a winger.”
Enzo Marescas has used Nickolas Jackson as the main man leading Chelsea’s attack, and he has been rewarded for this with two goals and one assist in four games.
He added: “Nicolas is doing very good day by day in the training sessions and then in the Premier League games.
“I think against City he was very good, Wolves away he scored and he gave an assist. Against Palace he was fighting until the end. At Bournemouth again, he did well, had two or three chances he missed, but sometimes, if you miss chances, it doesn’t mean you’re not playing well.
“At the moment, for me, Nicolas is our striker and I don’t have any doubts because of the way he is working day by day and the way he is working on and off the ball in the matches.”
The Italian also highlighted that Christopher Nkunku’s and Nicolas Jackson’s different talents and strengths give the team more diversity and the ability to deal with different opponents.
He added: “We used Christo as a No9 in the last game for the last 10 minutes. He is completely different to Nicolas in terms qualities and skills.
“Nico is a No9, Christo we can use as a No9 but in a different way. I am completely happy with the squad we have – not only Christo and Nico – and the players are versatile.
“We can use Christo as a No9 or in the pocket. He didn’t like to play wide as he prefers to play in the centre, but sometimes in terms of balance, sometimes players have to play in positions that aren’t always best for them. The important thing is they adapt and try to give their best.”
