Enzo Maresca has spoken about the development of Jorrel Hato.
**Chelsea**signed the defender for £35 million from **Ajax**in August, and he arrived with high expectations. He was the youngest person to captain a team in a European competition when he led out his boyhood club against **AEK Athens**in the Europa League in December at the age of 17, and the teenager has appeared six times for the first team of the **Netherlands**on the national front.
However, his integration into the plans at West London has been slow. Levi Colwill suffered a season ending ACL injury in preseason, Tosin Adarabioyo has been absent with a calf issue, and Trevoh Chalobah was suspended at the end of September after a red card in a 3-1 loss to Brighton. Yet, Maresca has only chosen to call on the 19-year-old when pushed into a corner with his options.
The defender made his first Premier League start in a 2-2 draw with **Brentford**in September, played in the defeat to the Seagulls, and he came off the bench in a 2-1 victory against **Liverpool**before the international break. The head coach is confident in his abilities to fill in across the left side of the defence, and Hato will hope to make an impact against his old club in the Champions League.
“We are very happy with Jorrel since he arrives. He's trying to adapt to a different competition, English football. But we are we are very happy with him. The first two three weeks he struggled a little bit in terms of you know the physicality in terms of intensity but he's getting better and better.
“He can play both. He can play both. He very good player that can be a central defender or fullback but also he can join the midfield in the attacking phase so I think he can play in different positions.”