“Unfortunately…” – Enzo Maresca misleads with questions about defender’s future | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca’s decisions on tour, both in terms of who he took to the Club World Cup and who he is using out there, are all very interesting to consider as we try to extrapolate what his preferred group will be for next season.

In some cases, people are probably reading into them too much. But this is all we have to go on so far, so it’s natural to try and draw some conclusions. The fact that Trevoh Chalobah went to the USA this year after not going last year has led some to conclude he’s finally proved his worth, and Maresca was asked in his press conference today whether that was the case.

Enzo Maresca denies Chalobah departure

Trevoh Chalobah leaves the pitch injured against Aston Villa. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

“No, in this moment, all the players that are here with us, I don’t want to lose them,” the coach began, before then contradicting himself:

“But then we said many times that when the window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen. To buy a player or to sell a player. Trevoh came back with us in January. If we did the Champions League spot in the top four, it’s also because of Trevoh. He helped us a lot. In this moment, he played also some games here. He is with us. We are happy with him. Then, as I said, unfortunately, when the window is open, anything can happen, but not only for Trevoh, but for the 25 players of the squad.”

Maresca misleads to make Chalobah decision sound out of Chelsea’s hands

Maresca’s repeated use of “unfortunate” makes it sound like Chalobah could go without Chelsea’s permission. Instead, it’s obvious that if he leaves it will only be because they want to sell him.

The sporting directors could yet consider the temptation of the “pure profit” of selling an academy produced player for big money too good to turn down it seems, so matter how unpopular that decision would be with fans, and potentially Maresca too.