Four Chelsea stars may have blown last chance with Enzo Maresca losing patience

It’s been a mixed start to life for new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, whose side crashed out of the League Cup on Wednesday night against Newcastle United.

The result spelt bad news for Maresca, who would’ve no doubt been hoping to stay in the competition, not least so his stretched squad could’ve had more runouts.

Instead, the Blues manager now only has the Conference League to rotate his fringe players in and out of the side – something that could cause unrest in the dressing room.

Not that the cold-blooded Maresca will care too much, given his patience appears to be running thin with four big-money Chelsea stars.

Enzo Fernandez

Despite being handed the captain’s armband by the Italian earlier this season, Enzo Fernandez is yet to repay Maresca’s show of faith, with the midfielder one of several players whose performance against Newcastle left plenty to be desired.

In truth, Fernandez is yet to repay much of the £105million Chelsea splashed when they signed him from Benfica in January 2023.

Wednesday’s St. James’ Park outing was his Chelsea career in a microcosm – promising in small parts, but majorly frustrating on the whole.

Maresca was even spotted turning away in disgust one time Fernandez lost the ball while trying to play a risky pass through the heart of Newcastle’s midfield.

Having made way for the returning Romeo Lavia in Chelsea’s Premier League starting XI, Fernandez has plenty of work to do to get back into Maresca’s good books.

Axel Disasi

If Fernandez has a poor night, Axel Disasi endured a horror show in the North East.

While he’s been used out of position at right-back by Maresca, Diasi didn’t even look comfortable with the basics against Newcastle and saw his misery compounded when he turned the ball into his own goal midway through the first half.

Failing to sort his feet out in the box, the gaffe gave the Magpies a comfortable two-goal cushion, with Alexander Isak having netted earlier in the contest.

Benoit Badiashile

Unforced errors in the Chelsea backline proved to be the theme of the net, with Benoit Badiashile having been at fault for the Isak opener.

Playing a blind pass into the feet of an already-marked Renato Veiga, the Newcastle attackers picked his pocket and Isak made no mistake with the finish.

It’s unlikely to do Badiashile’s prospect of being parachuted into the Premier League line-up any favours, with his only league outing of any kind this term a 37-minute cameo against Liverpool earlier this month.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Unlike some of Chelsea’s other underperforming players, Carney Chukwuemeka can pin some of the blame on a long-term injury that ruled him out for a chunk of last season.

However, it’s clear the ex-Aston Villa starlet isn’t wanted by Maresca, with the former Leicester manager saying so himself.

Maresca recently admitted that Chukwuemeka was told he’s free to leave the club during the summer transfer window in an attempt to slim down the number of players on the club’s books.

And with just two substitute appearances to his name all season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see talk of a move resurface ahead of the January window.