With the season over, the chatter at the moment in football is all looking ahead to this summer’s international tournaments.
Chelsea are making their decisions over who to let do what, and an exclusive from Kieran Gill in the Daily Mail today has confirmed what was suspected all week – Enzo Fernandez has been blocked from going to the Olympics in Paris by Chelsea. But Gill adds the interesting detail that Mykhailo Mudryk has also been blocked from going, in his case to represent Ukraine.
We saw Lesley Ugochukwu included in France’s squad, but so far he’s the only Blue has been permitted to go, presumably because he didn’t play a lot last season, plus isn’t expected to be first choice for next season. But Enzo and Mudryk are set to be important players for Enzo Maresca, and can’t afford to miss the crucial weeks of preseason.
The only possible decision from Chelsea
As much as these players would love to go, there is simply no real defence against Chelsea’s argument that it’s a step too far for them. They are each playing at their nation’s respective continental tournaments in a couple of weeks, and that already means a summer with very little rest.
When you combine that with the fact that we had an unprecedented injury crisis last year AND the fact that we have a new manager taking over this summer who wants a full preseason to try and implement his very specific style, it’s rather hard to argue with the decision to block their attendance in Paris.
When you accept a mega money deal to join a top club, unfortunately you have to accept that they’re going to prioritise your performance for them over your own personal goals when the two clash. We hope that these two see it that way.