Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge vs AC Milan during pre-season.placeholder image
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge vs AC Milan during pre-season. | Getty Images
Chelsea are heading into the new season with much optimism
Chelsea’s project has been in the works for a couple of years now and in recent months it has begun to bear fruit, with Club World Cup glory showing the world that the Blues really do mean business.
Enzo Maresca’s side ended an outstanding summer in confident fashion on Sunday as Italian giants AC Milan were put to the sword in a final pre-season fixture at Stamford Bridge, new striker Liam Delap scoring a double while Joao Pedro was amongst the goals once again in a 4-1 victory.
The Blues now prepare for their season opener against Crystal Palace on August 17 and expectations will be high heading into the new campaign. Their transfer business may continue to the end of the window, amidst reported moves for Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho.
Enzo Fernandez will not depart Chelsea for PSG - Romano
Reported by Fabrizio Romano on X, reports linking Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez with a move to PSG are ‘wide of the mark’ as the Argentina international looks set to remain at Stamford Bridge.
Reports by Fichajes in Spain on Saturday indicated that PSG had submitted an £130million offer for the 24-year-old on personal recommendation of manager Luis Enrique, in what may have been a difficult offer for club and player to turn down from the European champions.
But Romano has quashed this speculation, claiming that the reports from Spain are false. He stated: “Reports from Spain on Paris Saint-Germain and Enzo Fernandez are completely wide of mark. Zero talks, zero bids, zero chances for him to leave.”
This will reassure Chelsea fans who would have been reluctant to part ways with one of their most valuable players to a club with whom they hope to be competing on the European stage in years to come.
Of course, the Blues overcame PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup final and to lose Fernandez to the Parisians would be admitting to their place being below the French side in the current European football food chain - something they will believe is not the case. Fernandez had previously been linked with Real Madrid earlier this summer, but it appears he is set to stay put.
Maresca says Fernandez will be ‘even better’ next season
Speaking in a press conference during the Club World Cup recently, Maresca expressed how impressed he has been with Fernandez and in particular his improved goal contributions for the club last season, when he registered nine goals and 17 assists in a standout campaign.
He said: “I’m very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he’s a nice boy. He’s polite, he’s a good boy. Then he’s worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was [for him] to understand the way we want to play.
“But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goals, assists. This is what we want from our attacking players. I’ve said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goals each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals. So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.”
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