Ex-Premier League star names the one player who ‘needs to leave’ Chelsea

A former Premier League player says Ben Chilwell is the only player at Chelsea who needs to leave ‘for the sake of his career’.

Chilwell has made 107 appearances for Chelsea since his £45m move from boyhood club Leicester City in 2020.

Just one of those appearances came this season, with Chilwell continually overlooked by new Blues boss Enzo Maresca.

Maresca admitted last summer that Chilwell should leave if he hoped for regular game-time this season but the England international ended up staying put.

‘With Chilly, I said he is a lovely guy but with his position, he’s going to struggle with us,’ Maresca said towards the end of the summer transfer window.

Maresca appeared to have a change of heart earlier in the season, recalling the 27-year-old for the Carabao Cup game against Barrow and bringing him on for the second half.

But Chilwell has not been seen since then and should therefore be looking to leave Stamford Bridge during the January transfer window, according to ex-Nigeria star Celestine Babayaro.

A number of Chelsea players are being linked with January moves – including Christopher Nkunku, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka – but Babayaro believes Chilwell is the one who really needs a new start.

Babayaro, who made close to 200 appearances for Chelsea in the late 1990s and early 2000s and also played for Newcastle United, told Ladbrokes: ‘In terms of players who might need to look at moving on, I’m looking at Ben Chilwell.

‘I love him – he’s actually one of my favourite left-backs. But he can’t seem to get himself fit. He’s the sort of person who I’m looking at, who probably needs to think about his career. 

‘You know, he’s not as young as he once was, so he’s got to be thinking, “if I’m not getting games here, I need to move”. 

‘Apart from that, I don’t think anyone else will be thinking of leaving the club at this moment in time, because they’re pretty much all brand new signings. 

‘But, yeah, I just think Chilwell might be looking at his future, and thinking he needs to move on from the club.’ 

Babayaro questioned Chelsea’s appointment of Maresca last summer but the Italian proved his critics wrong during a largely impressive first-half to the season.

The Blues emerged as genuine title contenders but suffered a significant blip over the festive period to slip 10 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

‘Chelsea are blowing hot and cold at the moment,’ Babayaro said.

‘When Enzo Maresca took over, to be honest, I was one of those people whose eyebrows were raised at the appointment, because I didn’t know too much about him.

‘Sacking a couple of managers, and then bringing in Maresca, I just thought “where the hell are we doing?”

‘But he seemed to find a way to get the team playing, and they looked like they were back in form.

‘Then, all of a sudden, they went to Everton, where I was almost expecting a result – but they drew the game. We were second in the league at that point, as well.

‘I don’t think they were too bad against Crystal Palace – they should have easily won that match. They missed a lot of chances, and Nicolas Jackson wasn’t on top of his game.

‘Maresca is a great coach, I think; a disciple of Pep Guardiola. He did really well with Leicester, bringing them back into the Premier League.

‘I also spoke to a few of the Nigerian lads who played under him at Leicester, and they spoke very highly of him. I’m hopeful he can get the team going again.

‘What I would say, on Maresca, is that he needs to one his speech down a little bit, especially in those post-match interviews.

‘You know, in most of those interviews, he talks about how they’re taking each game as it comes. You know how it goes; you keep saying the same thing, and you start to believe in it.

‘As a former player, I would look at my coaches; I’d look at their body language, and what they’re saying in the press, and I’m sure his players are asking questions. “We take each game as it comes”… this is Chelsea Football Club.

‘We should be destroying teams, playing teams off the park. He really needs to look at his speech and tone it down a little bit.

‘I’m a big Chelsea fan, and with the kind of squad they’ve got, and the money they’ve got, they’ve got to be finishing in the top four.

‘They’ve been playing really good football since Maresca took over. Yes, they’ve not been as prolific in recent times, and they’ve dropped points in their last four games, which has been disappointing.

‘But this is Chelsea Football Club we’re talking about; we’re not talking about some random club.

‘All we know is winning trophies; Champions Leagues, FA Cups, EFL Cups… there’s no way we should be talking about them outside of the top four.

‘Maresca will absolutely be under pressure if he doesn’t finish in the top four this season.

‘Every manager that takes over at Chelsea has a certain expectation: top four, minimum.

‘Chelsea are playing in the Conference League at this moment in time, but this is not Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea belong in the Champions League, and the manager knows that.’

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