Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has revealed that his side are still looking for a new central defender ahead of their Premier League opener this weekend.
The Blues take on Crystal Palace on Sunday, just a few weeks after they were crowned world champions in the USA.
But Maresca has claimed that his squad is short of a defender but refused to take comment on the club’s expectations this term.
“We are trying to find solutions internally,” he said.
“The club know exactly what I think. I think we need a central defender.
“When I joined the club, the noise around the club is completely different compared to now. Personally, I don’t like to look ahead three, four months because this doesn’t exist in football.
“I like to focus on tomorrow. My personal target and the target of the team is to improve every day.
“We are a better team compared to one year ago because we worked together every day for one season. The first season was top. It’s a new season, we will see.”
Maresca then elaborated on why he needs a new centre-back before the window closes.
“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle. It’s different than the left side. Levi is out, the only one who can do that job well is Tosin. Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season.
“Central defender, yes, but it’s different. Also we have players that unfortunately have some problems and this is the reason why I said the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”
📸 Richard Pelham – 2025 Getty Images
Read the full article here
