Enzo Maresca has said he has 100% confidence in Enzo Fernandez despite the midfielder’s recent absence from the Chelsea side.
Fernandez has not started the club’s last two Premier League fixtures with Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia preferred in midfield, casting doubt on the future of the £106m former record signing.
The World Cup winner has struggled to live up to expectations in West London and was this week linked with a potential move to Spanish football.
Maresca said he retains ‘trust’ in the Argentina international but insists no player in his squad is guaranteed a place in the side.
“I show frustration with all of them, don’t look just at Enzo. I still trust Enzo, there is no reason in the world I can lose confidence in him,” Maresca said at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Manchester United.
“The reason why he is not playing in the Premier League is because I take another decision but my confidence is 100% with Enzo.
“I like to say that we don’t have an A or B team. There are players that are fantastic but we don’t have indispensable players. If Cole [Palmer] isn’t playing, we play Joao [Felix]. If Nico [Jackson] doesn’t play we play Christo [Nkunku]. There is not one we can’t change.
“The reason why we change players is because they are all good. You are looking for some different reasons for Enzo but he is going to play for sure in the future. It doesn’t mean Romeo [Lavia] and Moises [Caicedo] are always going to play. As soon as one of them drop, for sure we are going to change.”
