Enzo Maresca has recently added two new players to his Chelsea squad – and they could soon play key roles in his side for years to come. Since the Italian replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout, the Blues have forked out millions to strengthen his squad.
In the summer, Chelsea spent £219.6m on welcoming 12 new faces to Stamford Bridge, with nearly half of that spent on Pedro Neto (£54m) and Joao Felix (£46.3m), before investing a further £12m in January, signing Mathis Amougou. Maresca has capitalised on the club’s resources, climbing back into the top-four while also re-establishing an identity on the pitch.
Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are expected to continue to back the Chelsea boss in future transfer windows, whether they’re bringing in big names or unearthed diamonds. The West Londoners can sign as many players as they want, but Maresca already has two future stars that could fire the Blues to victory for years to come.
This season, the Italian has seamlessly integrated Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George into the first-team. When the former penned a contract extension in December, Maresca tipped him to become a ‘great player’.
“I am very, very happy,” said the Chelsea boss. “With Josh it has been quite clear, we had him in pre-season and I didn’t know him personally but within two or three days, he really impressed me.
“Since pre-season I have been trying to better understand the situation with him because of his contract and this kind of thing. Finally the club has found an agreement with him and we are all happy because we are all convinced and we are all sure Josh can be a great player for this club.”
A few weeks later, Maresca named Acheampong as the ‘best player’ on the pitch during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. The Blues boss said: “All the players, for me, were good today but if I had to decide for one, Josh was the best player. He can be a top player for this club. We decided today because we saw he was ready. Today he showed how good he is.”
George has also been slowly integrated into the first-team setup, quietly becoming a regular in the Blues’ matchday squad. The 19-year-old winger may not have played as much as he would like so far, but Maresca has already paved his pathway into the first-team.
Speaking to reporters following Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham, the Blues boss was asked what he would do if Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu were both sidelined with injuries. In what was his first press conference after the transfer window shut, Maresca suggested he has a long-term plan for George.
“We have Tyrique who is a very good profile and probably we can find some different solutions,” said the Italian. “In the last half-an-hour we played with Marc Cucurella higher, with Christopher Nkunku inside. We’ll try to find different solutions.”
Without reading too much between the lines, Maresca quietly promoted George as a left inside-forward deputy to Nkunku, taking the place of Mykhailo Mudryk, who remains unavailable. While Joao Felix, who joined AC Milan on loan, will return to Chelsea in the summer, the Cobham graduate has the chance to leave his mark and climb the pecking order.
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