Enzo Maresca has maintained that he wasn’t given the target of finishing in the top 4 in the Premier League when he was appointed manager of Chelsea.
Maresca indicated that despite the good players at his disposal, improvement is not something automatic but one that requires progress.
Enzo Maresca also pointed out the positions Chelsea have finished in the Premier League in the last two seasons.
Chelsea Owners Didn’t Tell Me To Finish In The Top 4 – Enzo Maresca Says
Speaking ahead of the London derby between West Ham United and Chelsea at the London Stadium, the Italian tactician touched on his team’s chances of finishing in the top 4 this season.
Maresca said: “Since I met for the first time with owners and directors, they never mentioned to me to finish top four.
“We have a very good squad, but I also said in the last two years, we finished 12th and sixth. To improve, it is not something automatic. You need progress”.
Chelsea In The 2024/25 Season
The Blues have had a wishy-washy start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, winning only 2 out of their opening 4 league matches.
They commenced the campaign with a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City, before smashing Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-2 at the Molineux in their second game of the campaign.
Enzo Maresca’s side subsequently played out a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, before narrowly defeating 0-1 Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
In all competitions, Chelsea have recorded 3 wins out of 6 matches, having initially defeated Swiss side Servette 2-0 in the first leg of the final round of qualification for the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League.
The Blues afterward were beaten 2-1 in the reverse fixture but qualified due to a 3-2 aggregate win.
Chelsea’s Busy 2024/25 Summer Transfer Window
Chelsea fortified their squad massively in the summer ahead of the campaign, and ordinarily, their target should be the top 4.
The Stamford Bridge side secured the services of several players this summer, including Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Jadon Sancho on loan, amongst others.
Given their underwhelming displays in the past 2 seasons, supporters of the club have clamored for an improvement in their performances.
It will be fascinating to see how they fare this season and the position they will finish following the assertions of handler Enzo Maresca.
Enzo Maresca Speaks On The Availability Of Ben Chilwell For Their Upcoming Matches
Maresca also provided an update on the availability of left-back Ben Chilwell, with the Italian tactician sharing that the Englishman was previously keen on leaving the club.
Enzo Maresca said: “Ben Chilwell is one of the guys who was ready to leave, but he’s here and he’s training with us”.
In August 2024, Chilwell was excluded from Chelsea’s first team squad for the 2024/25 season as they made attempts to force him away from the team.
However, they reinstated him back to their first-team set-up in September 2024 after they were unable to sell him due to a lack of suitors.
During the pre-match presser ahead of Chelsea’s away clash with West Ham United on September 21, 2024, Maresca also expressed that Ben Chilwell will be assessed and a decision will require his services this term.
Enzo Maresca said: “He’s training well. He’s our player. Game after game we are going to consider in case we are going to use him”.
Chilwell joined Chelsea from Leicester City on August 26, 2020, for a fee of €50.2 million.
He has made 106 appearances for the club, scoring 9 goals and providing 12 assists across all competitions.
