Enzo Maresca unhappy Chelsea board 'brushed aside' his transfer demand this summer | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has not been happy that his request for a "ready-made" centre-back signing in the summer was turned down by the Chelsea board, according to reports.

When Levil Colwill suffered a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season training in early August, it was a big blow to Chelsea's campaign.

The England international started in 35 of Chelsea's 38 Premier League games last season, so it was pretty clear that he is a crucial part of Maresca's plans.

Chelsea had about a month to enter the transfer market for a new centre-back after Colwill's confirmed injury, but did not make any move in this area, having already signed Jorrel Hato a few days prior.

IMAGO / Nicolo Campo

According to a report from FourFourTwo, Maresca has been unhappy that his plea to sign a ready-made replacement was brushed aside by the club.

The report also mentions that those close to Maresca said the head coach does not believe the current squad is good enough to compete in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Speaking recently about the injury problems, Maresca did not show any sign of a worried head coach, however.

"For sure in this moment we have injuries, but we have a squad to try to replace the injuries we have," he told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game against Benfica.

In hindsight, Maresca might have been right. Chelsea would have definitely benefitted from having another reliable centre-back at their disposal.

IMAGO / Martin Dalton

However, from the club's perspective, it was not as simple as bringing in a new top centre-back.

As mentioned, Chelsea had just signed Hato at the time, a left back who could provide some cover for the left centre-back position.

In addition to that, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile were both expected to make their return early this season.

They already have Axel Disasi, as well as Raheem Sterling, who failed to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge and has been told to train separately from the team.

IMAGO / Action Plus

A new centre-back signing would complicate the situation even more without selling one of the centre-backs they already had.

Bear in mind that Chelsea were also under pressure to keep a positive transfer balance this summer in order to comply with the agreement with UEFA, or risk not being able to register summer signings for the Champions League.

A ready-made replacement for Colwill would have likely been costly, and, given that Chelsea barely recorded a positive balance, per BBC Sport, the club's decision not to sign a new centre-back was at least understandable.