Chelsea stance on January transfer of Premier League wonderkid speaks volumes for Maresca

Chelsea have made a decision regarding midfield starlet Carney Chukwuemeka, who has been dominating the headlines regarding a premature move away from the club.

Despite Italian reports suggesting AC Milan are leading the race to sign Chukwuemeka in January, it appears the midfielder won’t be heading to the San Siro.

Rumours linking Chukwuemeka with Milan are well off target, as report FootballLondon. Last week, Calciomercato reported that Chukwuemeka had agreed to join the Rossoneri.

However, the 21 year old will not be making a move to the Italian club, either on loan or permanently. As the January transfer window approaches, Chelsea is bracing for interest in Chukwuemeka, who hasn’t featured in the Premier League this season.

The Blues’ determination to keep hold of their man speaks volumes for boss Enzo Maresca, who has been given a vote of confidence in his coaching skills from the top brass, who believe he can turn Chukwuemeka into a leading talent of European football.

The ex-Aston Villa player has made three appearances in the UEFA Conference League and one in the Carabao Cup, totalling just 63 minutes of play this term.

Despite having a large squad filled with international players, most of whom have seen significant game time in either the Premier League or Conference League, Chukwuemeka has not been utilised as much as he might have expected.

In September, Maresca revealed that he advised Chukwuemeka to leave the club during the summer transfer window for the benefit of his career.

Maresca said, during a press conference: “I will say exactly the same thing I have said many times: Carney is a very good player, but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the beginning of the season it is probably better to leave and go somewhere, prove himself and playing 30 or 35 games than being here and play less games.”

Maresca further expressed his concerns about Chukwuemeka’s playing time, stating: “Unfortunately that didn’t happen. He is our player. He had some minutes the other day, today he was not involved. Hopefully, we can give him some more minutes.”

Earlier that month, Maresca also shared his opinion on Chukwuemeka’s potential.

He noted: “I said to him personally, and to you in the press conference: I really, really like Carney. The problem is we have so many attacking midfielders that he is going to find space.

“For me, because of his past with injuries, the best thing to do was to go to some team and prove himself that he is fit and then come back here.”