"I feel shame because of that situation" – Enzo Maresca makes feelings clear about Chelsea star

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has opened up on his treatment of Ben Chilwell, who has recently been linked with a winter move away from the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Last summer, Maresca claimed that Chilwell was not in his first-team plans as he considered Marc Cucurella and Renato Veiga as his left-back options. As a result, Chilwell has made just one EFL Cup appearance this term.

Ahead of Chelsea's Premier League home clash against Bournemouth, Maresca insisted that he is not proud of his stance on the former Leicester City left-back. He said (h/t Metro):

"Ben has been top. I have to say that, he has been top. Very professional, works hard. I feel shame because of that situation but in terms of behaviour, he has been very good."

When asked why he has not deviated from his stance, Maresca replied:

"First of all because it's my choice. I can see Malo Gusto or Reece James or Marc Cucurella doing a different kind of job in the game. I think Chilwell is a top full-back doing that job up and down and in the past he has won titles and won international caps. But I struggle to see Ben doing different kind of things."

Chilwell, 28, joined Chelsea from Leicester in a £50 million deal in the summer of 2020. He has helped the Blues lift three trophies so far, registering nine goals and 12 assists in 107 matches across competitions in the process.

Chelsea told to offload 27-year-old attacker

Ex-Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has provided his honest thoughts on Christopher Nkunku, who is allegedly unhappy about his lack of game time this campaign. He told talkSPORT (h/t Metro):

"I feel for Nkunku because he's caught between two positions. He's not a number nine and he can't play number 10 so where is his best role? The whole role of number nine has been left down to [Nicolas] Jackson this season and Nkunku doesn't do that job when he's given the chance."

Cundy, who played for the Blues between 1988 and 1992, concluded:

"I think he will probably have to think about his future at the club because there is no role for him in this system and [Enzo] Maresca has no place for him. He's using him because he feels like he has to."

So far this season, Nkunku has started just three of his 18 appearances in the Premier League. He has scored two goals in 390 minutes of action.

Overall, the former Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig star has bagged 13 goals and laid out four assists in 28 overall club matches this season.