Chelseaare currently competing at the Club World Cup, and on June 28 will face Benfica in the last 16 of the competition. The West London club have been active in the transfer window thus far, signing Liam Delap among others. The Blues are also still in the race forJamie Gittens and are reportedly looking at other players. There are still questions surrounding potential outgoings at Stamford Bridge and Enzo Maresca has discussedTrevoh Chalobah‘s future while clarifying how he seesAndrey Santosfitting into the Chelsea team.
Chelsea’s Club World Cup Journey Ahead of Last 16 Clash vs Benfica
Enzo Maresca Discusses Andrey Santos Role
Chelsea ended the 2024/25 season in good form, which saw them qualify for the Champions League and defeat Real Betis 4-1 in the Europa Conference League final.
In theClub World Cup, the West London club won two out of their three group games to qualify for the last 16. They started the competition with a relatively comfortable 2-0 win against LAFC, before suffering a shock 3-1 defeat against Flamengo. The Blues qualified for the knockout stages with a 3-0 victory over ES Tunis, with Tosin Adarabioyo, Liam Delap and Tyrique George getting the goals.
During a pre-match press conference for the Benfica showdown, Maresca discussed the progression of Santos: “He’s working well with us, and had a very good season with Strasbourg. I see him more like Enzo Fernandez, as an attacking midfielder not a defensive midfielder. He’s more like Enzo than Moi or Lavia,” said the Chelsea boss regarding where he sees Santos fitting in.
Maresca Talks Future of Trevoh Chalobah
Trevoh Chalobah, who has not had it all his way under Maresca, was farmed out on loan to Crystal Palace, before returning and impressing at Stamford Bridge. Despite this return, his future appears far from secure, and Maresca refused to guarantee the defender’s future at Stamford Bridge:
“All the players with us, I don’t want to lose them. But when the window is open, anything can happen. He helped us get a top four spot and we are happy with Trev, but anything can happen, for any of the 25 players in our squad.”