Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has revealed why he did not include Cole Palmer, Wes Forfana, and Romeo Lavia in the Blue’s UEFA Conference League squad for this season.
Recall that Maresca recently announced his squad for the competition while omitting the three players.
Enzo Maresca on leaving out Palmer, Lavia and Fofana
Speaking in an interview ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League game with Bournemouth on Saturday, the Italian manager stated that he left the three players out of his Conference League squad in order to protect them.
‘’It’s very clear. We try to protect the players,” Maresca said via Chelsea’s official website, when asked about why he did not include the trio.
He continued:
‘’Romeo last year struggled to play [due to injury]. Wes Fofana exactly the same.
”Thinking about giving them minutes in the Premier League, they are not going to also play in the Conference League.
‘‘Cole is more or less the same,’’ he added, of last season’s Premier League Young Player of the Year.
He continued, ‘‘He had a very busy last year, from City to here, playing many games, then he didn’t come with us on pre-season because he finished quite late [because of Euro 2024].
”We are trying to protect the players and give them the right minutes at the right moment.’’
While Maresca excluded three of his key stars from the European competition, the Chelsea boss included a player who had been banished from the first team, in his recently presented squad list for the 2024-2025 EPL season.
The Blues take on Bournemouth this weekend, hoping to get back to winning ways after settling for a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace before the international break.