Enzo Maresca has just delivered a pretty damning assessment of one Chelsea player, claiming that his form in the last few months hasn’t been as good as in pre-season.
In general, Enzo Maresca has had a really positive impact since taking charge as the Chelsea manager in the summer.
There’s plenty of individuals in the Chelsea squad that are performing at a very high level. As a result, the Blues are third in the Premier League table, plus top of the Conference League group phase.
Alan Pardew says Maresca looks comfortable at Chelsea, which is a credit to how quickly he’s settled at Stamford Bridge.
Christopher Nkunku of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on November 27, 2024 in Cobham, England.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Enzo Maresca admits Christopher Nkunku hasn’t found pre-season form
Maresca has been extremely transparent when talking about Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku and his impact this season.
According to the Blues head coach, Nkunku is yet to reach the heights he set in pre-season during the opening few months of this 2024/25 campaign. The attacker’s scored 10 goals in 18 games across all competitions this term, but he’s only started one game in the Premier League.
When asked about Chelsea star Nkunku, Maresca said via Football.London: “Probably the best moment from Christo with us was in pre-season. For me, he was playing in his position; as a No.10, between the striker and the line. Since we started, he is playing as a No.9 with us. Against City in the first Premier League game, he played as a winger, knowing this was not his best position.
“Christo’s best position is between the lines as a No.10 but Cole [Palmer] is playing there. We are not going to play many games with Cole and Christo, or Cole and Joao [Felix]. We played the other day but we need the balance. The Leicester plan won’t be the same as the Aston Villa plan. They are all fantastic players and are all going to play games, no doubt, but not every game.”
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It’s interesting to hear Maresca acknowledge that he’s not using Nkunku in his preferred role as a No.10. Instead, the Frenchman is the understudy to Nicolas Jackson for the central striker position.
Nkunku isn’t very happy right now at Chelsea because of his lack of starts, but he’s not made any kind of complaints to the club.
Christopher Nkunku stuck in tricky Chelsea position
Like Maresca mentions, Nkunku plays his best football as a No.10 behind the striker. There might not be anybody in the world that could dislodge Cole Palmer from Chelsea’s central playmaker spot, though.
Nkunku hasn’t lit up the Chelsea side yet this campaign like he did in the summer during the pre-season schedule, but it’s difficult when he’s constantly in and out of the side. On top of that, he’s trying to do his best leading the line as the centre-forward.
Competition Appearances Starts Goals Assists
Premier League 11 1 1 0
Conference League 3 3 4 1
Conference League qualifiers 2 2 2 0
Carabao Cup 2 2 3 0
Christopher Nkunku for Chelsea in the 2024/25 season
Manchester United are among the clubs interested in Chelsea’s Nkunku, but the player’s future won’t be reviewed until next summer at the earliest.
For now, the French attacker can only keep scoring goals in cup competitions and patiently waiting to really make his mark in the league.
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