Latest: Enzo Maresca confirms signing a new defender is “a priority” after Colwill injury | OneFootball

Chelsea have just played Bayer Leverkusen in their first preseason friendly at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues were excellent.

Estevao Willian scored and shone on his debut, while fellow Brazilian Joao Pedro looked great as he added a second. All in all, it was a great day out, one which promises big things for the season ahead.

Chelsea’s “priority” is to sign a new player claims manager

Enzo Maresca and Marc Guehi. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Despite all that, the focus post game actually ended up being on a player who wasn’t there. Levi Colwill had surgery on an ACL injury last night after hurting himself in the first training session back after the summer break, and will miss the majority (if not all) of this season.

Asked post-game by Channel 5 presenter Alex Aljoe if Chelsea would go into the market to replace their regular left centre back, manager Enzo Maresca all but confirmed they would at least try:

“It’s a priority [strengthening in defence] because Levi is a fantastic player. What we achieved last season is because of him. He played all the games with me, I love him, we’re going to miss him.”

Perhaps the coach didn’t quite realise how strongly his claims were coming off. But the briefings we heard earlier in the week that the club were happy with what they already had on the books have quickly been revealed to be nothing but a smoke screen.

Maresca’s claims backed up by his on pitch decisions

New signing Jorrel Hato’s use as a left back has pretty much convinced us that he won’t be considered as a Colwill replacement, so that means we’re going into the market.

Top option for the Blues right now appears to be Marc Guehi, a former Cobham kid who they’ve been extensively linked to over the years. With one year left on his deal, now is the time to move for him.