Chelsea: Enzo Maresca advice unlocks Enzo Fernandez as struggling Cole Palmer remains shackled

It was not rather the mythic communicative of David Moyes arriving astatine Manchester United and telling Rio Ferdinand conscionable however overmuch helium could larn from Phil Jagielka.

But successful antithetic circumstances, an eyebrow mightiness person raised erstwhile Enzo Maresca suggested the astir costly midfielder successful past mightiness resoluteness each his problems by being a small much Wilfried Ndidi.

Restored to the Blues’s Premier League lineup for the archetypal clip successful six weeks, Fernandez thrived successful a much precocious role, mounting up Nicolas Jackson’s first-half opener and past scoring what proved the decisive extremity with a rebound header aft the break.

“I’m trying to person Enzo, successful the aforesaid was arsenic I did past twelvemonth with Ndidi and Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] that attacking midfielders request to get successful the box,” Maresca explained afterwards, that brace having some enjoyed the astir prolific seasons of their vocation during the Foxes’s promotion-winning run past term.

“The crushed wherefore helium scored contiguous was due to the fact that helium was wrong the container and if helium was extracurricular of the box, helium wouldn’t person scored the goal.”

Teeing up Jackson’s good decorativeness made it 5 assists successful 3 games crossed each competitions for Fernandez, but his extremity was his archetypal successful a Chelsea garment since aboriginal February, a tally that, adjacent including a spell retired injured, had spanned 25 appearances.

Now, helium has flitted betwixt deeper and much attacking roles successful that clip and goals person ne'er been the defining metric of Fernandez’s crippled successful immoderate case. Since helium lone ever scored 4 for Benfica (two of those successful aboriginal Champions League qualifying) they surely were not what Chelsea paid northbound of £100million for.

Fernandez was allowed the state to beryllium each spot arsenic precocious arsenic <a href="/topic/cole-palmer">Palmer</a> and Felix, managing 5 touches successful the Leicester container to the former’s four

But Maresca believes determination is much to travel from a subordinate who is not 24 until the New Year and has offered a wide denotation of wherever helium sees his namesake champion utilized successful a Chelsea squad that looks progressively tactically flexible.

This was, Maresca felt, the “right crippled to usage Enzo”, contempt his precocious accomplishment backmost from planetary work successful South America, presumably connected the grounds that 2 specializer holders - Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia - would person been overkill successful a crippled the Blues were ever apt to boss. Lavia’s ain niggle connected planetary work whitethorn person played a part, but the Belgian had trained without contented astatine Cobham connected Tuesday, portion Fernandez was preparing to play Peru successful Buenos Aires, and was acceptable capable to travel disconnected the bench.

Caicedo and Lavia person been outstanding of late, laying the level for Chelsea’s potent frontline, and erstwhile a subordinate has pushed connected to adhd numbers to the onslaught it has tended to beryllium Malo Gusto - missing done unwellness present - inverting from full-back. But the scuttling pair’s shared qualities of work-rate, anticipation and destructiveness slice successful value erstwhile you person 82 per cent of possession, arsenic Chelsea did successful the opening fractional an hour.

With Caicedo susceptible of manning the fort alone, Fernandez was allowed the state to beryllium each spot arsenic precocious arsenic Cole Palmer and Joao Felix, managing 5 touches successful the Leicester container to the former’s four.

If opponents are mounting up to frustrate Palmer with increasing occurrence (the past 5 league games person brought lone 1 goal, nary assists and a bully kicking) past Maresca volition request much creativity from elsewhere successful a tally of fixtures that features plentifulness much games of this ilk.

You would slope connected the Lavia-Caicedo axis being restored against Aston Villa adjacent weekend, and distant to Tottenham aboriginal adjacent month. But betwixt present and a travel to Manchester City successful precocious January, Chelsea besides play the different 5 members of a bottommost six completed by the present manager-less Leicester, and the onus volition beryllium connected the Blues to dictate.