Maresca willing to let players leave in January but hopes Nkunku will stay | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca says he will let players who are not happy at Chelsea leave the club in January if they request it.

The Blues boss has already accepted that the futures of Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell likely lie away from Chelsea, with the duo having fallen out of favour this season.

And Maresca says it is the best case for all parties if unhappy players are allowed to leave the club.

He said: “In this moment, the focus is on the Fulham game. We aren’t thinking about players who want to leave. In case this happens, we are going to see.

“But in this moment we are not thinking this player has to leave or that player. We are just thinking how to win games.

“Then, if they knock on the door and they want to leave, I’m not going to say: ‘No, no you have to stay here, 100 per cent’. If they want to leave, the best thing for everyone is that the players who aren’t happy are going to leave.”

Forward Christopher Nkunku is another player who has been linked with a move away having found game time in the Premier League hard to come by.

“We like Christo and we want him here,” Maresca said.

“There will always be players that are not happy and some that will ask to leave in January. I am not sure if they will be Christo’s or another player’s case. We want to keep them here because we are happy with them here.”