Chelsea won’t accept a loss on £20m midfielder who can’t get a game – and loan is off the cards | OneFootball

Carney Chukwuemeka didn’t get a single minute for Chelsea last night. That made it 3 games in a row where the midfielder didn’t appear.

It shows just how deeply he’s been buried on the depth chart by Enzo Maresca. we were excited that this might be his season after the flashes he showed last year, but as we feared that long injury really derailed his progress in getting into the first team.

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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Christopher Nkunku are going to hoover up any minutes that Carney wanted, with Cole Palmer still to come into the equation. Enzo Fernandez is playing further forward too. Whatever combination and formation Maresca chooses, there’s always a queue for minutes and he doesn’t seem to like Carney just yet.

Players will get their chances – in the Conference League especially. We’ll want a whole new team there, and Carney will benefit there.

Carney Chukwuemeka in preseason action.

Big decisions for talent’s future

With Conor Gallagher looking like he’s going, we’d imagine Carney has to stick around. But the temptation for a loan will be growing if he continues to not threaten for any minutes.

While Chelsea might not see him much in the first team picture right now, they’re not going to want to lose money on the deal. They paid £20m to Aston Villa for him in 2022, and won’t accept a loss on that despite his injuries. A loan could give him a chance to recover some value, and some fitness, but at the moment he looks like he’s just going to have to be patient at Chelsea.

AC Milan and other Serie A teams have shown interest before, but so far his cost and wages have kept them away. But if the manager really has turned his nose up at Chukwuemeka, the sporting directors will have to start taking any offers a lot more seriously.