(Reuters) – Chelsea are working to find solutions with Ben Chilwell after he was put up for sale but did not find a club and the defender could return to training with the first team with the transfer window now closed, manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.
England internationals Chilwell and Raheem Sterling were among the high-profile players frozen out by the Italian manager when he took charge ahead of this season.
While Sterling was loaned to Arsenal on deadline day, Chelsea were unable to offload Chilwell, who was signed in 2020 for around 50 million pounds ($65.62 million) but has not played a single minute this season.
“Ben is now probably the only one that is still here. We are going to sit with him and find a solution,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth.
“He is probably going to be back with us in a training session… The reason why he is training apart is because the idea was for him to leave.
“But because he didn’t find a solution, he is probably going to start to train with us. In the moment, if we decide that, he is going to be one of the players.”
Chilwell helped the London side win the Champions League but the 27-year-old left back has struggled to secure a regular spot since suffering a knee ligament injury at the end of 2021.
Chilwell fell down the pecking order following Marc Cucurella’s arrival in 2022 while in the past two seasons, he faced hamstring and knee injuries, limiting him to just 13 league appearances last term.
Chelsea have picked up four points from their first three league games to sit 11th in the standings and Maresca said his young side were going in the right direction but need to find a balance between the “technical side and the physical side”.
“We used this international break to try something new for the future that we can use,” he added.
“Also on some defensive work to try and find some balance. It doesn’t mean we’re not defending well… City, Arsenal and Liverpool have those players that are physically strong but we have that too.”
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(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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