- The 18-year-olds all started in Chelsea’s 5-1 victory in the Conference League on Thursday
- Maresca believes that it would be better for their development to stay at the club
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Enzo Maresca wants Chelsea’s hat-trick hero Marc Guiu, along with Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong, to stay in January rather than send the 18-year-old trio away on loan.
While it is acknowledged that they could guarantee more regular minutes if they left, Maresca has told his club that it would be better for their progress if they stayed with him.
All three teenagers started Thursday’s 5-1 Conference League win over Shamrock Rovers at Stamford Bridge, with Guiu, a £5million summer signing from Barcelona, securing himself the match ball with an impressive first-half hat-trick.
Chelsea next take on Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League and Maresca said: ‘With young players like Marc, Josh and Tyrique, I think it’s the best for them to be with us because they can understand every day how we want to play.
“They can grow, we can teach them how we want them to play. It’s better if they stay with us. But then it depends on the wishes of the players. If Marc’s wish is to get more minutes and play more, then we sit down with him and decide to do that together.’
Meanwhile, Reece James returned to Chelsea’s first-team training on Friday but did not take part in the full session at Cobham. He is being built back up after his latest hamstring problem, and a return to competitive football could follow in January.
Enzo Maresca believes his young stars will be better served by staying at the club
Marc Guiu (left), along with Tyrique George (right) and Josh Acheampong, could guarantee more regular minutes if they leave on loan in January
Romeo Lavia is struggling to be fit to face Everton in a match that could take Chelsea to the top of the Premier League. Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are also sidelined until after the new year, because The Blues suffer from injury problems in defence.
Maresca faces the challenge of keeping his entire squad happy in the second half of the season as the Conference League enters the knockout stages. Several players could leave in January to guarantee themselves game time, with Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka among the first the club will look to send away on a permanent or loan basis.
“Personally, I’m not worried about the next three months, whether the player is happy or not,” Maresca said. “All I can say is that we have a lot of games, and if they do the right things, if they work well, they will definitely all get opportunities to play games.
‘Game by game we will choose the best eleven that we think are suitable for the game and then we will see.’