“Needs to understand” – Maresca points out where £18m Chelsea star must improve after Leverkusen display | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has highlighted one area where new signing Dario Essugo must improve following the win against Bayer Leverkusen.

Chelsea signed Essugo from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth £18m, and the 20-year-old made his debut during the successful Club World Cup campaign.

Essugo was signed to provide cover for Moises Caicedo, and there are similarities between his game and that of the Ecuadorian, with Maresca describing the youngster as a very strong player.

Maresca highlights where Essugo must improve

Chelsea fans got a first glimpse of Essugo in action at Stamford Bridge as he replaced Caicedo at half time in the 2-0 win against Leverkusen.

Essugo put in an impressive performance, and the Portuguese youngster appears to be settling into life at Stamford Bridge well.

Essugo put in an impressive performance against Leverkusen. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Just how often Essugo will feature remains to be seen, but the fact Chelsea can now give Caicedo a rest when they need to is very welcome.

Essugo is still young and despite impressing he still has plenty to learn, and Maresca has highlighted one area where the midfielder needs to improve.

“Dario is another one who’s 20, very young,” he told Channel Five Sport.

“We bring him here to give more rest in some games to Moi [Caicedo] and to Romeo [Lavia]. He is doing very well.

“He needs to understand a little bit more, especially the way we want to play on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very good. He has to understand a little bit on the ball.”

Chelsea have plenty of competition in midfield

Midfield is arguably the strongest area of the squad, and Chelsea boast the likes of Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia.

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Essugo is now in the mix, as well as the highly regarded Andrey Santos, who has now returned from an impressive loan spell at Strasbourg last season.

It will be interesting to see how Maresca manages the midfield options, but given the long season ahead, there’s likely to be plenty of opportunities for everyone to impress and stake their claim for more regular minutes.