Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

Ex-Premier League winner slams Enzo Maresca for treatment of one Chelsea star

Former Chelsea player Glen Johnson has hit out at Enzo Maresca for his treatment of Ben Chilwell and believes the left back is more than good enough to play for the Blues.

It’s been a difficult for summer for Chilwell, who after only playing 64 minutes in pre-season was told he wasn’t part of the Italian’s plans going forward and needed to find a new club.

However, this proved more difficult than perhaps Chelsea would have expected, largely in part to Chilwell’s injury record and his reported £200,000 per week wages.

Johnson not happy with Maresca’s Chilwell treatment

There appeared to be very few suitors for Chilwell with Manchester United believed to have turned down the opportunity to sign the 27-year-old, although recent reports have credited Crystal Palace and Ipswich with interest in the left back.

Having remained at the club the Blues have decided to bring Chilwell back into the fold until January when they will likely look at other solutions.

Ben Chilwell in action for Chelsea.
Chilwell has yet to feature for the Blues this season. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

The former Leicester man has been named in Chelsea’s 25 man Premier League squad and is now back training with the first team after reportedly reaching a truce with Maresca.

How often, if at all Chilwell is going to play remains to be seen after he was left out Chelsea’s squad for the league phase of the Europa Conference League, although there’s a chance he could feature against Barrow next week in the EFL Cup.

Former Chelsea ace Johnson has hit out at Maresca’s treatment of Chilwell and believes he’s more than good enough to be playing for the club.

“Ben’s more than good enough to be playing for Chelsea and I do believe it’s silly sometimes when a new manager comes into a club with a preconceived idea of their team before they’ve even worked with the players,” he told Betfred as cited on X.com.

“It’s evident that the players in the ‘bomb squad’ didn’t even get a chance to impress Maresca, so in that sense, I don’t think it’s fair on Ben Chilwell.”

Tags Ben Chilwell Enzo Maresca
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