£73m Chelsea trio feeling ‘frustrated’ under Maresca inevitable but two can only blame themselves

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·11 December 2025

£73m Chelsea trio feeling ‘frustrated’ under Maresca inevitable but two can only blame themselves

Three Chelsea stars are said to be not satisfied under Enzo Maresca, but this is not entirely the head coach’s fault as a duo can only blame themselves…

The 2025/26 campaign is proving to be frustrating for Chelsea as they have flirted with seriously entering the Premier League title conversation before taking two steps back.

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This has been the case over the past week as they have lost to Leeds United, drawn against FC Bournemouth and suffered a comeback defeat at Atalanta following their emphatic win over FC Barcelona and draw against Arsenal.

A report has claimed that people inside Stamford Bridge have ‘absolutely lost their minds’ at Maresca over his tactics against Atalanta, with the head coach also under scrutiny for tinkering with his team too much.

This hindered Chelsea against Atalanta, and he tried to justify himself after the match.

“I think tonight, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that they play against Tottenham, they play against Barcelona, they play against Wolves, Arsenal,” Maresca said.

“We had eight, nine players that they are the ones that they are playing every time, these kind of games.

“So if you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth, it’s different.

“But if you see that inside the pitch, we had eight, nine players that they are the same, Barcelona, Arsenal, Tottenham, Wolves, you know, these kind of games.

“But the ones that they play tonight are the ones that they are playing almost all the games.”

Onlookers have been particularly critical of Maresca for leaving teenage sensation Estevao on the bench against Atalanta, and a report from The Daily Mail claims the £51m signing is ‘frustrated’ at being overlooked by the head coach.

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Facundo Buonanotte, who joined Chelsea in the summer on loan for around £2m, is also ‘finding his lack of minutes frustrating’, while £20m goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is ‘itching to play’ to boost his chances of playing for Denmark at next summer’s World Cup.

The report adds:

‘Estevao will hope he gets his chance in that clash, though he is unlikely to be alone in wondering why he was unused in Italy. Others somewhat disheartened may include Andrey Santos, who watched as a right back, Malo Gusto, was brought on to replace Enzo Fernandez, and Facundo Buonanotte, the Brighton loanee who is finding his lack of opportunities frustrating and has now gone unused for seven successive games. ‘Likewise Filip Jorgensen, Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper, is itching to play after being told by Denmark that he needs to get game time if he is to represent them at next summer’s World Cup. The upcoming January transfer window could be interesting for Jorgensen.’

Now, Estevao’s supposed frustrations are justified as he is a special talent and has shown enough this season to be a more consistent starter for Chelsea, even though he is near the start of his career.

However, Jorgensen and Buonanotte can only blame themselves for their current situations; they should not have expected anything else after accepting lucrative long-term contracts to join Maresca’s oversaturated squad, with heavy rotation a necessary evil to retain some semblance of squad contentness considering the hand the head coach has been dealt.