Chelsea captain James has regained fitness, and Maresca is assured of his significant position.
Enzo Maresca asserts that Reece James have the capability to “play everywhere,” but implies that Ben Chilwell’s deficiency in comparable versatility is the reason for his exclusion from Chelsea.
Maresca’s innovative deployment of his full-backs has characterised his tenure at Chelsea, with the Italian acknowledging his disfavour for traditional “up and down” players in that position.
Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella are both having excellent seasons under Maresca’s inverted full-back formation; but, James’s return from his recent hamstring injury enhances Chelsea’s alternatives.
The club captain, who participated for 45 minutes against Morecambe in the FA Cup on Saturday, has previously distinguished himself as an adventurous, overlapping wing-back, but was also considered a prospective midfielder early in his career during his loan at Wigan.
Maresca stated, “He is capable of playing in any position.” “Regarding positions, I believe that in contemporary football, one must be a player capable of performing in various roles.” They are all football players, and you can instruct them to assume various positions.
“Undoubtedly, utilising full-backs in such a manner, continuously ascending and descending, likely expends more physical energy for them.” However, I do not favour full-backs who frequently forward and retreat. We do not utilise our full-backs, Malo Gusto, Reece James, and Cucurella, in a vertical manner.
Chilwell has likely played his final match for Chelsea, having been omitted from the team for Saturday’s cup fixture as the club endeavours to secure a buyer.
The England international has participated in only one match this season – against Barrow in the Carabao Cup – and Maresca concedes that this is partly down to his belief that the left-back cannot fulfil the same function within his system.
“I can observe Malo Gusto, Reece James, or Cucurella performing various roles throughout the match,” he elucidated.