Chelsea: Enzo Maresca names the two best players he has coached as Premier League winner picked | OneFootball

Blues boss has two clubs under his managerial belt so far

Enzo Maresca believes Cole Palmer and Jamie Vardy are the two best players he has coached in his managerial career.

Palmer arrived at Chelsea the summer before Maresca, and has scored 46 goals and registered 29 assists in 105 matches for the Blues.

Vardy won the Premier League in Leicester’s extraordinary 2015-16 title-winning season, when he was also named Premier League player of the season, as well as FWA footballer of the year.

“Cole, for sure, is one of them,” Maresca said when asked who is the best player he has coached.

“I really think that one of the best strikers in England has been Jamie Vardy. And I think Jamie is a top player and also a top guy. He has a big heart. So, for sure, Jamie is one of them.”

Chelsea host third-place Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and will be boosted by the return of Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and Liam Delap. But Chelsea will be without defender Jorrel Hato after he suffered an injury during a warm-up midway through the Newcastle game on December 20.

“[Gittens] was not in the squad [against Newcastle] because the day before the session he had a problem in his shoulder,” Maresca said. “But he's back.”

Maresca said of summer signing Hato: “Then at half-time against Newcastle, he had an injury during the warm-up. So he's out for [Villa].”

Chelsea could allow second-choice goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen to leave the club next month for a six-month loan spell. The Danish international is understood to want more first-team game time but is playing second fiddle to the Blues’ No1 Robert Sanchez.

“For sure, we are happy with Filip,” Maresca said. “But, at the same time, they all want to play. And if they don’t play, they are not happy. So we’ll see what happens in January.”