Maresca reportedly wants to keep Ukraine star at Chelsea

Amid the reports linking Ukraine star Mykhaylo Mudryk away from Chelsea in January, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is said to want to keep him at Stamford Bridge.

The recent reports claimed Maresca said that the Mudrky is still in his first-team plans.

It is no news that Ukrainian has struggled for minutes in the Premier League this season, with the Blues stockpiled squad allowing Maresca to play two entirely different teams in separate competitions.

Maresca’s Premier League team includes their key players such as Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo.

While in the EFL Cup and the Conference League, Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, and recently Enzo Fernandez, has been given game time to play in those leagues.

Chelsea like other clubs have a hectic winter schedule ahead of them, where they play 11 matches in the final six weeks of the year.

This means Mudryk could get more game time often in the Premier League.

A report via Football Insider claimed Maresca sees Mudkry as an important member of the squad, who will play in the cup competitions, and fill in when necessary for potential injuries.

Playing two games a week almost every week for the rest of 2024, before the start of the FA Cup in January, means the manager may need to rotate slightly in the league, and Mudryk could be one of the players to get chances.