Enzo Maresca insisted that Chelsea do not have "many players" and went on to reveal the preferred position of each of his forwards.
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Chelsea accused of having a bloated squadToo many forwards put Maresca in a dilemmaThe manager cleared the role assigned to each of themFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Chelsea have had another eventful summer, as 11 players were signed to reinforce the squad. Among the notable names are Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, and Joao Felix, all attacking players who will be gunning for a starting berth.
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This massive influx of talent in the attacking third has raised eyebrows as Maresca might find himself having a problem of plenty. However, the manager is not concerned and revealed that the strategy was to have at least two players in each attacking position.
WHAT MARESCA SAID
Speaking ahead of Chelsea's clash with West Ham, Maresca clarified: "As left-wingers, we have Jadon and Misha [Mudryk]. As right-wingers, we have Noni and Pedro. As attacking midfielders, we have Joao Felix 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."
He added: "Christo can play as a No.9 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."
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea fans witnessed Maresca making the most of the squad depth in their slender 1-0 win over Bournemouth. The manager started the match with Neto, Palmer, Madueke and Jackson but brought on Felix, Sancho and Nkunku in the second half to change the complexion of the match. And he stood vindicated as Sancho and Nkunku combined to score the winner late inside regulation time.