Now the VICE-CAPTAIN gets the boot! No-nonsense Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca tells Ben Chilwell it’s ‘better if he leaves’ this summer as brutal clear-out continues

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has brutally revealed that it would be better for Ben Chilwell to leave as the club look to continue their summer clean-up.

Chilwell was appointed Blues vice-captain by former manager Mauricio Pochettino at the start of last season, acting as Reece James’s deputy captain.

The left-back was the team’s regular captain despite James’ injuries last season, but his own fitness issues limited him to 21 appearances in all competitions.

Maresca indicated this summer that he wanted to make his mark on Chelsea’s squad when new head coach Enzo Fernandez appointed him vice-captain in place of Chilwell.

The Italian said ahead of the Premier League season opener against Manchester City that Chilwell is struggling to find a place in his team.

Head coach Enzo Maresca was honest about the defender’s future ahead of the new season

Chilwell could become another big victim as Chelsea look to sell players this month

Maresca claimed it would be better for the England international, one of the club’s senior players, to leave this summer.

“Chilly is with us, but he hasn’t trained the last few days because he was sick,” Maresca said.

The reason he didn’t play [in a pre-season friendly] against Inter it was because, with Chilly it’s quite clear, even though I love him the way he is, the problem is that he struggles a bit to find the right position.

‘This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask them all, they will say they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible.

‘If you train every day and don’t get any minutes, that’s not good for them and it’s not good for me.

“I have to make a decision and it’s probably better to leave and play minutes. The transfer window is open, so we’ll see what happens.”

Chilwell has made a total of 106 appearances for the Blues since joining from Leicester for £50million in 2020.

The defender was part of the team that won the Champions League in 2021.

Chilwell won the Champions League in his first season in 2021 but now looks set to head out the door

The England international was replaced as Chelsea vice-captain by Enzo Fernandez

The 27-year-old signed a new contract in April last year, extending his deal until the summer of 2027.

Chilwell said he was ‘really pleased the club wanted me to be involved in the project long-term’ when he agreed his contract extension.

He looks set to become yet another major casualty of Stamford Bridge’s renovation this summer.

Earlier this month, the Blues reportedly banned Trevoh Chalobah from using the club’s first-team training facilities as they sought to facilitate a transfer for the defender.

Mail Sport reported last month that Chalobah, who joined Chelsea at the age of eight and made 80 appearances for the club, feels he is being kicked out of Stamford Bridge.

The defender has been joined in the Under-21s by fellow Blues academy players Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku, with Chelsea also looking to sell both strikers this summer.

It is believed that Chelsea see this as the best way to deal with unwanted players who no longer have a future at the club, as they can focus on a transfer rather than giving them false hope.

Maresca also revealed that Conor Gallagher, another former academy player, is training alone as the club tries to strike a deal with Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher was on the verge of joining the Spanish club this summer and was even set to travel to Madrid, but complications surrounding Samu Omorodion’s proposed transfer to Chelsea saw the deal called off at the last minute.

Trevoh Chalobah trains with Chelsea’s under-21 squad in preparation for likely transfer

Conor Gallagher trains independently, a move to Atletico Madrid is uncertain

Maresca admitted that it is ‘not good’ that so many players are not participating in first-team training

As a result, the midfielder was on a flight back to England with his future unclear, but Gallagher is said to be ‘trying to find a solution’ with the Premier League giants.

Chelsea currently have a bloated squad of 43 first-team players, with Maresca revealing that 15 are training away from home as the club seeks to recruit them for transfers to new clubs.

Regarding the size of his squad, Maresca said: ‘If I think now that I have 43 players, that is not good. I have 28 who train with us.’

The Chelsea manager added: ‘Paul and Laurence are responsible for finding solutions for these boys, not me.’