"I found it strange" - Ian Wright claims Enzo Maresca's comments have hampered Chelsea's season 

Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes Enzo Maresca's comments have hampered Chelsea's season. Wright opined that the manager saying they were not in the Premier League title race could have given the players an excuse to play below their standards.

Speaking on his Wrighty’s House podcast, the 61-year-old opined that the manager should have kept those comments inside the dressing room. He added that Arsene Wenger and Nuno Espirito Santo would not say such things in the press conferences as it could give the players the freedom to drop off in form.

He said (via Metro):

"He didn’t need to say that. He could have just said it in the dressing room. [Former Arsenal manager] George Graham wouldn’t say anything that made you think, Arsene Wenger as well was very positive. When I heard it, I thought it’s almost like giving the players a get out of jail free card if you start playing badly."

"I found it strange – it didn’t need to be said. At some stage, there was going to be some form of drop-off without him saying that and giving them an excuse. He should have just said it’s brilliant and we’re ahead of schedule and we will see where we are. That’s what you do," he added.

"Nuno [Espirito Santo] would never say something like that about [Nottingham] Forest… just play. It gets into the player’s heads and gives them a get out of jail free card. I’m not saying they would have won the title but I would like to think they wouldn’t have gone on a run like this after doing so well," Wright continued.

"They were playing so well and looking so dangerous. I remember sending messages saying Chelsea scare me, Chelsea are dangerous. Why would you throw that [comment] into the mix? If Chelsea get Champions League, magnificent. Now they might be looking at the Europa League with the way it’s dropping off," he concluded.

Enzo Maresca's side were two points behind Liverpool, who had a game in hand, before Christmas but have now slipped to sixth place. They are 13 points behind the leaders after picking up just six points from their last seven matches.

Chelsea working to get players in before Deadline Day

Chelsea are determined to strengthen their squad this month and are looking to bring in forwards. They have recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Crystal Palace. However, the Blues have decided not to bring Andrey Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu, as they want them to continue their development at Strasbourg and Southampton, respectively.

The Blues have been linked with Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United, Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund, and Mathys Tel of Bayern Munich. They are also keeping tabs on Liam Delap of Ipswich Town and Jhon Duran of Aston Villa, who is also of interest to Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nassr.

Enzo Maresca has hinted that his squad has enough midfielders, but The Athletic has reported that a loan signing is not ruled out in the midfield. Douglas Luiz of Juventus has been the name rumored to be of interest in the midfield.