Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca insisted on Wednesday that he is not presiding over any squad shake-ups as the London club embarks on yet more transfer activity.
Joao Felix signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge, marking his return to the club from Atletico Madrid, where he spent a frustrating period on loan in the 2022/23 season, helping to secure Conor Gallagher a move in the opposite direction.
Maresca now has one of the Premier League’s biggest squads, although he has made it clear that Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are not part of his plans.
But speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Conference League play-off against Servette, Maresca said criticism of the club’s transfer policy was unfair.
“I’m not working with 42 players, I’m working with 21 players (in first-team training),” the Italian said.
“It’s not as messy as it looks from the outside. Other players can get 20-year contracts too. That’s not my issue. I don’t care.”
It is impossible to give minutes to everyone’s
On the situation of Sterling and Chilwell, he said: “At the moment, they are training (separately from the team). As I said, the situation with those two is quite clear.
“We have a big squad. It’s impossible for me to give minutes to everyone, so if they are looking for minutes, it’s probably better to leave. And if they don’t leave, they have a contract here. They are Chelsea players.”
But he was more excited about Joao Felix and Maresca, whose side started the new Premier League season with a 2-0 defeat to champions Manchester City last weekend, saying: “He is a good player, a talent.” The club had him two years ago.
“He can play in different positions with us, inside, as a nine, and outside.” No transfer fee was disclosed for the former Benfica star, who featured twice for Portugal at EURO 2024, but UK press reports previously said Chelsea had agreed to pay Atletico £40 million ($51 million).
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Joao Felix joined Atletico in 2019 and played 131 games for Diego Simeone’s side, although he spent last season on loan at Barcelona. He previously featured 20 times in all competitions during a six-month loan spell with Chelsea, scoring four goals.
“I loved it here before, and I told my friends and family that I would love to come back to the Premier League one day,” the player told Chelsea’s official website.
“It’s a great feeling to do it with Chelsea and I’m excited to be back.” Earlier, Gallagher completed his permanent transfer after his intended move to the Spanish club failed last week after Chelsea failed to agree a deal for Atletico striker Samu Omorodion.
Gallagher has been training alone since returning to Chelsea last week after pictures emerged of him in Spain ahead of his proposed 33 million move.
The 24-year-old won the 2019 Europa League with Chelsea and leaves the London side after 95 games and 10 goals.