Chelsea's bomb squad is much-malignedplaceholder image
Chelsea's bomb squad is much-maligned | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
One of Chelsea’s bonb squad members could finally find a solution.
Much has been made of Chelsea’s bomb squad, with Enzo Maresca taking a pretty ruthless approach to squad planning during his time at Stamford Bridge. The Blues boss has made it clear which players he wants and doesn’t want during his time at Stamford Bridge, and those unwanted players who haven’t been able to secure exits have been left training with the kids, so to speak.
The bomb squad has included a big group in the past, but these days it is a much more slender selection of players, with the Blues managing to offload many of their unwanted players over the last year or so. Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi are now the most prominant players to find themselves training separately.
Both were linked with summer exits, and we saw Disasi linked with a host of clubs in the summer, with Newcastle United and Villarreal among those tipped to make a move for him. Neither pulled the trigger, though, with the latter deciding to spend bigger to land Chelsea teammate Renato Veiga instead.
Disasi has been ticking over with the youngsters as a result, and there is no chance of him returning to Maresca’s plans unless there is a serious injury crisis. Naturally, he is not in Chelsea’s squads for the Premier League nor the Champions League.
The issue for Disasi is that he is under contract until 2029, so a contract termination is almost certainly off the cards. A solution will be sought again in January, likely in the form of a loan move, but according to reports in Germany, Borussia Dortmund are interested in the defender’s services next summer.
Dortmund have done plenty of business with Chelsea, and there is a good relationship between the two clubs. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens joined Chelsea in the summer just gone, while Carney Chukwuemeka joined Dortmund on a permanent deal, and Aaron Anselmino joined on loan.
BILD claim Disasi is now a target for Dortmund, but they will not move until the summer. A loan deal with an option to buy in January could be a potential solution as Chelsea look to get out of the defender’s long-term contract. Dortmund are said to be preparing for the departures of Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Sule next summer, and Disasi is seen as a good fit.
Maresca defends bomb squad approach
Maresca and Chelsea have been heavily criticised over the so-called bomb squad, with the PFA even engaging in discussions with the Blues.
Maresca said recently in defend of his and the club’s treatment of the players: “I’ve been in Raheem’s situation and Axel’s situation as a player.
“And for sure I know that it’s not the best feeling for a player, because if you are a player that means that you want to train and play a game and then for a different reason the situation is the situation that is in this moment and I know that the club is giving them the opportunity to work in the right way. This is the only thing I can say.
“I can promise you, Italy, Spain, England, France, USA, Brazil, any club in the world, when for any reason the player and the club doesn’t find any solution and you give the player all the tools to do training sessions and to do everything but if you are not involved in the squad you are not involved in the squad.
“My father is 75 years old and for 50 years he has been a fisherman, working from 2 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock in the morning. This is hard in life, not a player, the way they work.”
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