Chelsea have had an average starting XI age in the Premier League of just 24.1 years, tied with Sunderland as the youngest, according to Transfermarkt.
The Blues have deliberately built a young squad, the only one in the Premier League not to have featured a player over 30 in a matchday squad.
However, this youth could be linked to both mistakes and indiscipline, and Chelsea have also faced criticism for the quality of their defence and goalkeepers.
After a defeat at Manchester United, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said: “You can’t turn up at Old Trafford with the goalkeeper and centre-backs you’ve got. That just can’t win you the league.”
Sanchez has made a league-high 10 mistakes leading to shots and five leading to goals since the start of last season yet his deputy, Filip Jorgensen, also underperformed against Lincoln last week.
Chelsea are understood to remain content about a decision to not sign AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan for £25m, with Sanchez retaining the backing of the hierarchy and his manager.
Chelsea had already explored the market for central defenders but signed only Ajax’s Jorrel Hato – ahead of Piero Hincapie, who was also considered but now plays for Arsenal.
Chelsea also admired Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi but watched on as Liverpool’s deal for the defender collapsed on deadline day and believe they didn’t miss any game-changing options signed by league rivals.
Additionally, Chelsea want to maintain pathways for players out on loan such as Strasbourg goalkeeper Mike Penders and defender Mamadou Sarr, along with Dortmund defender Aaron Anselmino.
Nevertheless, it remains debatable whether Chelsea’s youthful squad is strong enough to win the league while meeting the increased demands of competing in the Champions League for the first time in two and a half years.
ENZO MARESCA has a wealth of talent at his disposal at Stamford Bridge, with three Cobham starlets already working their way towards first-team involvement.
After starring during the international break for England‘s youth teams, 16-year-old Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and 17-year-old Shim Mheuka are two attackers the Italian boss is keen to have available for selection going forward.
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Enzo Maresca beamed as he discussed Chelsea’s young talentCredit: Getty
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Shim Mheuka debuted for the Blues’ first team last seasonCredit: Getty
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Ryan Kavuma-McQueen was recently in stunning form on international dutyCredit: Getty
Mheuka, who made his Premier League and European debuts for the senior team last season, scored five goals in three games for the Young Lions, while winger Kavuma-McQueen made headlines with a four-goal haul against Germany‘s under-17s.
With Cole Palmer and Liam Delap both injured, there may be a spot for these youngsters sooner than anticipated, especially when the Blues travel to Lincoln in the Carabao Cup on 24th September, with Marc Guiu cup-tied for that game.
Maresca opened up in his Friday press conference on the impressive pair: “They are both in my plans, for sure. Shimmy was already with us and played some games for us last year. Ryan is more of a winger.
“I was watching when Ryan scored four goals against Germany, so I was very impressed, but I already knew him. One of my staff is always watching the youth team; they told me he was very good.
I’ve always said with young players, you have to be calm because they can change every day. For sure, though, he is one of the players we are looking at.”
Kavuma-McQueen is incredibly highly rated by those involved in the Chelsea youth system, and the Blues are keen for him not to become the next Rio Ngumoha, who joined Liverpool in pursuit of first-team opportunities he has now been granted.
That’s why, after fighting off interest from Liverpool and Barcelona for his signature, they will be thrilled that he is set to sign his first professional contract with the club when he turns 17 on New Year’s Day 2026.
While Maresca was left impressed by the two goal-scoring Brits at his disposal, he admitted he has a favourite when it comes to Blues’ youngsters.
Rio Ngumoha dramatically burst onto the scene against NewcastleCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
The Chelsea boss isn’t necessarily known for his enthusiasm in press conferences, but when asked about youngster Reggie Walsh, he was warmth personified with a smile plastered across his face.
Walsh, 16, has been training with the first team and was one of a record-breaking eight youngsters to be given a first team shot last season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get more chances this year with the Blues already facing injuries to some of their key midfielders.
Liam Delap ruled out for three months as Enzo Maresca gives major injury update on Chelsea striker
Maresca added: “I like all the academy guys, but Reggie is the one I like more than the rest, he’s my favourite.
“He’s very good, but because they are from the academy, we need to protect them.
“We already have the youngest squad in Premier League history, and last year we gave so many debuts to academy players. But Reggie is doing things that I demand of other players, and does them without me asking him to. That’s why I love Reggie.”
While Brentford may come too soon for the Cobham trio, they are all likely to feature when the Chelsea U21’s take on Ipswich next Saturday at Kingsmeadow.
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Reggie Walsh has hugely impressed MarescaCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
At a fee of £40m, in a window where players have been going for really silly money, he does not represent a massive risk.
The question is whether Garnacho is better than what Chelsea already have or what they have let go in the course of an incredible summer of buying and selling.
Garnacho is set to duke it out with fellow new arrival Jamie Gittens to be Maresca’s first choice down the left.
The Blues boss said: “They are quite similar.
“When we are looking for a winger, we like wingers who are good in one-v-one, they are quite vertical, aggressive, they can attack, they can create something.
“Jamie is that profile. If Garnacho arrives, we will see.”
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Fellow new signings Jamie Gittens had better numbers than Garnacho last seasonCredit: Getty
Garnacho brings more competition for places in Chelsea’s well-stocked attack.
But when you compare his stats for last season to those of Gittens, it is not much of a contest.
Chelsea fans needn’t worry about losing Rio Ngumoha, there’s somone better on the way
Across most of the important categories, Gittens was better: goals, assists, dribbles, chance conversion and so on.
There are two points to consider, however. Firstly, Gittens had a great time in front of goal last season, outperforming his expected goals significantly.
Meanwhile Garnacho had a particularly bad time when it came to converting big chances.
While Sancho was playing for Borussia Dortmund – as Gittens was last season – the then England manager Gareth Southgate was asked frequently about his form and whether he deserved more game time.
Without ever actually saying, “Lads, it’s the Bundesliga”, Southgate made it pretty clear that doing well in Germany’s top flight was one thing, but reproducing that form in the Premier League and at international level was quite another.
Maresca was not impressed with Gittens’ PL debut against Crystal Palace, hooking him after 54 minutes and putting him on the bench for the 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.
Yet it would be harsh to judge Gittens so soon.
Interestingly, too, Sancho’s stats while he was on loan at Chelsea last season stand up pretty well to Garnacho’s for United in some categories.
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Jadon Sancho also put up better numbers that Garnacho during his Chelsea loan last seasonCredit: Reuters
Sancho seemed to enjoy being away from the toxicity of Old Trafford and Maresca said: “We had Jadon with us and he had a very good season.
“Again, if we finish top four and we achieve what we achieved, it’s also because of Jadon.
“Now with Garnacho, in case [if] he will arrive, we will see.”
That phrase again – we will see.
Noni Madueke, sold to Arsenal by the Blues earlier this summer, outperformed both Sancho and Garnacho last season.
Madueke, of course, plays primarily as a right winger. But on output alone, Chelsea seem to have got rid of a more potent attacking player than Garnacho.
And looking at Pedro Neto’s numbers, you wonder whether the Blues would have been better keeping Madueke.
Garnacho’s statistics for United in 2023/4 were in many cases better than in 2024/5, but not to a spectacular degree.
The Argentinian has it all to prove on the pitch.
He will also need to be careful off it.
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Noni Madueke, who was sold to Arsenal this summer, was Chelsea’s top performing winger last termCredit: Getty
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Pedro Neto also had better stats that GarnachoCredit: Getty
Garnacho infuriated United this summer with his habit of sending not-very-subtle messages of defiance through social media.
The Blues boss said: “We are in an era where I look like the strange one, because I don’t use social networks.
“I have a company that runs my Instagram but I don’t use it. I look strange because I don’t use it.
“But the normal situation in this era is that everyone uses it. I’m not going to tell them, don’t use that.
“First of all, because they have family around them that can give them advice.
“I have four kids and try to give them advice.
“But if I have to give 25 more players advice, it’s too complicated.
“Anyone can do what they want, anyone can say what they want, but in the end it’s a matter of respect.”
Garnacho may find Maresca and Chelsea intolerant of mischief-making on social media and other disruptive behaviour.
And he only has to look at the turnover of players at Stamford Bridge to know what will happen if he does not deliver.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca thinks Cole Palmer’s injury is “not random” and is concerned about the lingering effects of winning the Fifa Club World Cup.
The 23-year-old forward has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Fulham.
Palmer’s injury has been linked to an unprecedented 12-month season where his team played 64 matches, including the expanded Club World Cup tournament in July.
After beating Paris St-Germain in New Jersey on July 13, and having less than two weeks to prepare for the current campaign, Chelsea had their shortest ever gap between seasons. This included the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, which were impacted by the Covid pandemic.
When asked about Palmer’s absence, Maresca said: “I don’t think that it is random that our three players with the most minutes last year were Levi [Colwill], Cole and Moi [Caicedo].
“Levi is injured, Cole too and Moi today only had his first training session since the West Ham game.
“It is not random, it is the amount of games. Look at [Manchester] City last year, they lost Rodri after two or three games. He was a player that had the most minutes for them.
“We are going to have problems this season for sure because of last season. But It’s about how we can adapt and get players to recover.”
England defender Colwill started 35 of Chelsea’s 38 league matches last season but is expected to be out for the majority of the season after knee surgery.
Meanwhile, Caicedo is now a doubt for the visit of Fulham, having been Chelsea’s only player to start every league match last season.
Palmer, who pulled out of last week’s win at West Ham with a niggle in the warm-up, was also a near ever-present in the previous campaign.
Maresca added: “I have said that with Cole we are much better with him than without him. But if he has some problems we need to give him the right time to recover.
“It doesn’t matter if Estevao [Willian] is there or not, we can’t tell Cole he can relax, we need Cole back at 100%.”
Fifpro president Sergio Marchi claimed Fifa “chose to continue increasing its revenue at the expense of the players’ bodies and health” in July after Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over PSG to end the tournament in the United States.
CHELSEA boss Enzo Maresca loves to celebrate with a cigar – but more than anything he wishes he could have a smoke with a team-mate who died in horrific circumstances.
Enzo Maresca has opened up on the heartbreaking loss of Antonio PuertaCredit: Getty
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The pair played together at Sevilla and Maresca would love to share a cigar with his palCredit: EPA
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Puerta died after collapsing on the pitch from a cardiac arrestCredit: AFP
After the latter, the Blues boss enjoyed one of his favourite Portagas 2 cigars, the brand he used to smoke with Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola when they were marking City’s success.
But when Maresca was asked to name the football personality he would most like to one of his favourite Portagas No 2 cigars with, the Italian gave a poignant answer – Antonio Puerta, who died aged 22 after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field.
Maresca told Men in Blazers: “That’s a very good question. I will tell you, when I was 25, 26, I lost a team-mate inside the pitch. So if I could, I would like a cigar with him.”
Midfielder Maresca had four seasons at Sevilla but his third campaign started in tragic fashion.
The Italian was on the field when, just 35 minutes into the opening game of the 2007/8 season – at home against Getafe – Puerta suffered a cardiac arrest.
After the wing-back collapsed and lost consciousness in the penalty area, team-mates and medical staff rushed to his aid.
Puerta recovered enough to walk to the dressing room but collapsed again there.
He was resuscitated and rushed to hospital, where he had to receive more life-saving resuscitation.
But Puerta died three days later, on August 28, because of multiple organ failure and irreversible brain damage.
It emerged that he had an incurable hereditary heart disease called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.
Fans spot Liam Delap’s reaction on bench after Joao Pedro goal as Chelsea fans say ‘this guy can’t catch a break’
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Maresca and Puerta shared a close bond at SevillaCredit: AFP
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They won the UEFA Cup together in 2006Credit: Getty
Puerta’s death shocked Spanish football and the wider world.
His girlfriend was expecting their first child at the time of his death.
When Puerta passed away, Maresca and the rest of the Seville squad were already in Greece for a Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens.
Maresca, who played for Greek side Olympiakos later in his career, spoke about the tragedy when Chelsea went to Athens in October 2024 for a Conference League game against Panathinaikos.
Maresca said: “In terms of the season I spent here in Greece, for me it was very good with Olympiakos, a big rival with Panathinaikos. But unfortunately I lost a friend on the pitch when I was at Seville.
“The first game we played after that, we were already in Athens and just on that day, one of our team-mates passed away in Antonio Puerta.
“So it is a mixed feeling. The season in Athens was fantastic. But every time I come back here I am a little bit sad.”
The Champions League game against AEK, which had been scheduled for the evening of the day Puerta died, was postponed.
When Sevilla faced AC Milan in the Uefa Super Cup on August 31, all 22 players had the name Puerta on the back of their shirts.
Sergio Ramos, who had come through the Sevilla academy and into the first team with Puerta, wore T-shirts in memory of Puerta after Spain’s triumphs at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.
Jesus Navas, who was on the field on the day Puerta collapse, made the same gesture after the 2010 World Cup final.
In 2010, Sevilla unveiled a statue of Puerta at their training ground.
Watch the full Men in Blazers interview with Enzo Maresca here.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says it is “impossible” to organise normal training sessions amid a “code red” severe heat warning in Philadelphia at the Club World Cup.
The Blues players trained at Subaru Park, the home of local Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union, in 37C.
The 45% humidity means it feels more like 45C, according to accuweather.com, and temperatures on Monday were predicted to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8C) for the first time in 13 years.
“This morning’s session has been very, very, very short,” said Maresca, adding that “otherwise you don’t save energy for the game”.
“It’s been just about tomorrow’s game, planning for tomorrow, and that’s it. No more than that,” the Italian added.
“As you can see, it’s not easy in these conditions with these temperatures. We are going to try to do our best.”
The local public authority has warned people in Philadelphia to avoid “work in high-heat environments” and “strenuous physical activity”.
However, some matches at Fifa’s newly expanded tournament have kicked off in the middle of the afternoon, with temperatures at their highest.
“It’s difficult to work with these temperatures but we are here and we trying to do our best and we will try to win tomorrow,” said Maresca.
Similar problems have been faced by other clubs, raising concerns about the United States co-hosting the World Cup at this time next year.
Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac said he was “sweating like I’ve just come out of a sauna” after his side beat Mamelodi Sundowns in 32C heat in Cincinnati on Saturday.
After Atletico Madrid’s 4-0 defeat by Paris St-Germain in 32C in Pasadena, midfielder Marcos Llorente said it was “terribly hot” and added “my toes were sore, my nails were hurting – it’s incredible”.
Chelsea are under pressure for their final Group D match against Tunisia’s ES Tunis after losing 3-1 to Brazilian club Flamengo last time round.
The Blues need to avoid defeat to qualify as runners-up, which would secure a last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, Benfica or Boca Juniors.
Captain Reece James is a doubt because he is “ill” and Nicolas Jackson is suspended after his red card last week and was left out of the open training session on Monday.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says he has yet to speak to Mykhailo Mudryk since the forward was charged with violating the Football Association’s anti-doping rules but insists the player retains the club’s support.
Ukraine international Mudryk, 24, was provisionally suspended by the FA in December after an “adverse finding in a routine urine test” and now faces a potential four-year ban.
Mudryk, who at the time of his suspension said he was in “complete shock” and had “never knowingly used any banned substances”, last played for Chelsea in November but attended the Blues’ Uefa Conference League final win in Poland last month in a private capacity.
“Mischa is a Chelsea player and – as a Chelsea player – I trust all the Chelsea players,” said Maresca.
“I spoke with Mischa at the Conference League final in Poland but I haven’t spoken to him since.
“When I spoke to him he was quite good, I didn’t see him worried or not good, he was good and okay but I haven’t spoken to him since that day so I don’t know how he is now.”
Chelsea signed Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £89m, and he is under contract at the club until June 2031.
Mudryk, who cannot currently train with the club, has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Blues.
