One Chelsea player has failed to win over manager Enzo Maresca behind-the-scenes, and he’s open to the idea of signing for an elite club indefinitely for next season.
Chelsea beat FC Copenhagen 2-1 in Europa Conference League
The west Londoners kicked off an excellent start to their Europa Conference League knockout campaign with a 2-1 victory at FC Copenhagen in their first leg of their last 16 tie, with goals from Reece James and Enzo Fernández handing the Blues a one-goal advantage heading into their second leg clash at Stamford Bridge.
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It was Chelsea’s first away win in all competitions since their 3-1 victory at Kazakhstani minnows Astana all the way back in December, and while this tie still hangs in the balance, Maresca was relieved to finally clinch a win on the road.
“A long time [laughs]! Yeah, very important for many reasons,” said Maresca on the long-awaited Chelsea away win. “For sure because it’s away, for sure because it’s a knockout game now so you need that. And also for the performance.
Leicester City (home)
March 9th
Arsenal (away)
March 16th
Tottenham (home)
April 2nd
Brentford (away)
April 5th
Ipswich Town (home)
April 12th
“They surprised us because in the last almost three years with this manager, they played two games with a line of five, so we didn’t expect that. In the first-half, we controlled the game, we didn’t create chances. Also, when we planned the game, we also expected not to create many chances when we have Shim [Mheuka], who is 17-years-old, Ty [George] is 17-years-old; we knew we would struggle a little bit.
“Overall, we deserved to win the game, and it’s good because we gave chances to all of them to get minutes.”
Chelsea let a host of B team players leave during the January transfer window, which contributed towards Maresca handing a few academy teenagers some minutes in Denmark last night. One of the winter departees, João Félix, left west London to join Serie A heavyweights AC Milan on a temporary deal.
The Portugal international impressed during the early stages of his Milan loan, but he’s since failed to recapture that initially promising run of form, with the San Siro outfit’s stance on a permanent move now emerging.
João Félix open to joining AC Milan from Chelsea this summer
As things stand, Milan are not inclined to negotiate an extended stay for the £130,000-per-week attacking midfielder, even if the player himself would be keen on the idea.
According to GiveMeSport, Felix is interested in joining Milan from Chelsea this summer for the 2025/2026 season, but the 25-year-old would need to improve his overall displays to convince the Rossoneri to negotiate a deal.
Right now, Milan are not even entertaining the thought of discussing an extended loan, so Felix will need to put in a real shift from now until the end of this campaign.
GMS add that Felix has failed to impress Maresca or win him over back in London, so there is every reason for the ex-Benfica and Barcelona star to work his socks off in Italy.