Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca risks upsetting three players with new policy

boss has, bar a few tweaks, operated with two different starting lineups this season. He has used one in the and another for and matches.

The policy was ignited when was curiously left out of their squad for European games in the competition’s new League Phase, but exacerbated when Maresca made 11 changes for the visit of on Sunday, .

It has worked up until this point, with both sets of players receiving plenty of gametime. But there will be a breaking point when talented players in the ‘B team’ are not satisfied with irregular minutes in the English top flight.

Here, Express Sport has taken a look at three players Maresca risks upsetting if he does not give them adequate time to impress in the .

is a star. He was talisman for five years and his ability prompted the Blues to spend £54million on him while they were already stacked in wide areas.

However, Maresca’s first-choice options appear to be Noni Madueke and , with Palmer operating in a free role between the pair.

While regular rotation could benefit Neto, having struggled with injuries since heading to England in 2019, he is accustomed to playing in his club’s biggest games.

That might not be the case at Stamford Bridge and despite penning a seven-year contract, Neto may end up looking elsewhere if this current situation persists.

Christopher Nkunku

Maresca has already detailed that Christopher Nkunku prefers to play centrally rather than out wide, limiting the positions he can compete for.

And similar to Neto, off the back of a long-term injury, playing once a week in matches with lower intensity will do no harm on his comeback to full fitness.

But Nkunku is a player that clubs all across Europe sought after and were willing to spend £52m on, having starred for in the and .

Should return to Europe’s premier competition, he will expect to play in those matches once again. But currently he is behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order amid in January.

The Frenchman is far too talented to play a bit-part role, something Nkunku will be acutely aware of as the season progresses.

Axel Disasi

Axel Disasi arrived at from Monaco for £38m and made a strong start to life in west London, but in his second season at the club appears to be operating largely as a back-up to Malo Gusto.

And he could be pushed further down in Maresca’s eyes when captain Reece James is back from injury.

Disasi is a versatile defender, able to play at right-back and centre-back, in the prime of his career at 26, but Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill are Maresca’s first-choice options.

A season playing largely in the Conference League and domestic cups is unlikely to suffice and Disasi could look to move on in either January or the summer.