Carney Chukwuemeka has started just two games for Chelsea (Photo: Getty)
Enzo Maresca has suggested that Carney Chukwuemeka’s Chelsea career is already over – just a year after he joined the club for £20million.
However, Maresca may be forced to backtrack on his comments as reports say there is a huge ‘stumbling block’ preventing the highly-rated youngster from making a transfer away from Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino signed Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa but three separate injuries meant he made just 12 appearances across all competitions last summer, only two of which were starts.
The midfielder was one of several high-profile names left out of the Chelsea squad for their opening game of the season on Sunday – a 2-0 loss to Manchester City.
And like Raheem Sterling, Maresca said Chukwuemeka’s exclusion was not injury-related but a ‘technical decision’ before going onto hint that if the player wanted minutes he’d have to find another team.
‘I think every case is different. Carney, I think he is a very good player,’ the manager explained in his post-match press conference.
‘The problem is, because of some injuries in the past, I think the best for him is to play 30 or 35 games in a row, to show himself that he is fit and how good he is because he is very good.
Enzo Maresca cannot guarantee Chukwuemeka minutes at Chelsea (Photo: Getty)
‘With us, is he going to play 35 games? I’m not sure.’
Chukwuemeka has his admirers including Crystal Palace, Barcelona and Napoli, and according to The Sun, Chelsea may be willing to loan the Englishman or even sell him for less than their £40m valuation.
But their report adds that aside from the transfer fee, potential buyers could be put off by the player’s large wages, reportedly worth £115,000-a-week.
With such a bloated squad to deal with, Maresca has said to expect more sales before the transfer deadline in just over a week.
Blues players on the transfer list include Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher who is still waiting for his move to Atletico Madrid to be finalised.
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