Why Maresca wants £107m man to be more like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | OneFootball

Enzo Fernandez was something of a surprise selection by Enzo Maresca yesterday.

After playing twice for Argentina in the international break, and arriving back late on Wednesday night, Fernandez looked a long shot for a starting berth – but he got one, and he then made the most of it.

With a pretty rotten Leicester sitting deep and Moises Caicedo more than capable of controlling the midfield on his own, Fernandez had license to push forward in support of Nicolas Jackson, and he really made it count.

The midfielder assisted the striker’s opening goal, and then had the favour repaid when he was the further Blue forward to snap up the rebound when Jackson’s effort was saved later in the game.

“Today, I thought, was the right game to use Enzo, even if he was back [late] from international duty. I think he did very well,” Maresca said after the match.

He then gave more detail about some of the tactical advice he had given to the former Benfica man:

“I’m trying to convince Enzo [to play] in the same way as I did last year with Ndidi and Kiernan, that attacking midfielders need to arrive in the box. The reason why he scored today was because he was inside the box.

“And, if he was outside of the box, he wouldn’t have scored the goal. We are happy in the way Enzo is doing.”

Enzo Fernandez applauds the away fans at the King Power Stadium. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Enzo still the subject of major debate with fans

There have been a lot of debates about Fernandez’s position already in his short time at Chelsea. We’ve seen him used as a 6 an 8 and a 10, and to this day you’ll hear fans arguing for and against each of them.

His long passing works best when he’s deep, but he doesn’t have the legs to do much defensive work, so it’s a tough call. The evidence that he can actually produce goal contributions when near the goal is promising though – maybe Maresca’s influence will finally crack the code?