Chelsea -Baas Enzo Maresca expects Enzo Fernandez to get even better if he prepares for a reunion with his former club Benfica.
The midfielder of Argentina, signed by the Portuguese giants for a then British record £ 106.8 million two years ago, took the time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge.
But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season and finished the campaign with eight goals and continued to shine at the Club World Cup.
The 24-year-old scored in the opening victory at Los Angeles FC and created two goals in so many minutes as the Blues beat 3-0 on Tuesday in their last group match.
Their reward is a last 16 collision with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday.
Maresca told reporters at his press conference before the competition: “I am very satisfied with Enzo, especially because he is first of all a nice boy. He is polite, he is a good boy.
“Then he worked very well in all aspects within the field, outside the field. Our battle was in the beginning (for him) to understand how we want to play.
“But he does fantastic in terms of numbers, goal helps. This is what we want from our attacking players.
“I often said that I prefer to score the attacking players each 10-12 goal, instead of just a striker with 40 goals.
“So his contribution this season has been great and I am sure that next season will be even better.”
Nevertheless, Fernandez could be confronted with the competition for his place after Maresca suggested that he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than as a defensive player.
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The very appreciated 21-year-old came to the club again this summer after a successful loan in Strasbourg and debuted as a second half replacement against Esperance.
Maresca said: “His season has been very good, but I think you need time to adjust.
“In terms of position I see Andrey at the moment in more as Enzo’s position than the position of Romeo (Lavia).
“The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. At the moment I see Andrey more an attacking player than defensive in the field.”
Maresca added that he hopes that the 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club, even though he is connected to Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund.
He said: “My idea if my plan with Josh is pretty clear. I think he might be a top defender for this club. I feel that the best plan for Josh is with us.”
Maresca would also like England International Trevoh Chalobah, but offered no guarantees.
He said: “All players who are here with us, I don’t want to lose them, but when the transfer window is open, something can unfortunately happen – not just for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the team.”
Maresca expects a tight match against Benfica.
He said, “It will be a balanced game, a difficult game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.”
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