Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Maresca in pre-season training.

Enzo Maresca shares what Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho must do if they want to play

Enzo Maresca has revealed the message he had for Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix before the pair joined the club this summer.

It was another busy window for the Blues with a number of new faces coming through the door, although they failed to land a striker despite negotiating with Victor Osimhen for months.

There were three high profile attacking arrivals in Sancho, Felix and Pedro Neto which gives Enzo Maresca an embarrassment of riches to choose from in the final third.

Maresca’s message to Felix and Sancho

Felix arrived from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth £44.5m, and the Portugal international scored on his debut against Wolves in what is now his second spell at the club after spending part of the 2022/2023 season on loan at Stamford Bridge.

Sancho, who could make his debut in Saturday’s game against Bournemouth was a deadline day signing from Manchester United with the Blues agreeing an initial loan deal which will become permanent for around £25m as long as Chelsea don’t finish in the bottom six of the Premier League.

The pair face a tough task to lock down a regular place in the team given the competition for places, although there’s likely to be plenty of opportunity given the Blues could play over 70 games this season.

However, Maresca revealed exactly what he told the pair and warned them they aren’t going to play unless they do one thing.

João Félix in action for Chelsea.
Felix arrived this summer from Atletico Madrid for £44.5m.

“Listen, we have Jadon [Sancho], Joao [Felix], these kinds of players, he told reporters as cited on X.com.

“Before they joined the club, I had a chat with them, and one of my messages to them was ‘if you come here and don’t work properly then you are not going to play’.

“Before they arrived, the message for them was clear. For Jadon. For Joao. But [I told them] the reason why I’m speaking to you is because I really like you.

“If you come here in the way that we want, we are happy. But if you come here and don’t work hard, it’s better if you don’t come.”

You can’t argue with Maresca’s message and the bare minimum is players should turn up and work hard every single day, which in fairness the squad seem to be doing right now.

Tags Enzo Maresca Jadon Sancho Joao Felix
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