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Ben Chilwell has admitted that he was desperate to leave Chelsea in the January transfer window. He claimed that Enzo Maresca keeping him out of the first team was not ideal for him and took a toll.
Speaking to ITV, Chilwell stated that he was trying his best in the training sessions but was just not given a chance to prove himself on matchdays. The left-back added that he knew that the only way for him to play again was by moving away from the club. He said (via Nizaar Kinsella):
"I was training by myself a lot of the days. You’re not involved in the matchday squads and you kind of just wait for the opportunity for when you’re gonna go somewhere. If you go somewhere in January and you’re miles off the pace, you’ve got to put the work in. The only person who is losing out is you."
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"Training by yourself a lot for a number of months isn’t easy but I think the only thing that was keeping me going was I knew I was going to go somewhere, whether that was January or the end of the season…. these past four or five months has given me the opportunity to mentally and physically realign, refocus and reset to go again. There were a lot of circumstances at Chelsea that were not in my control, which I completely respect but the things I could control was how I came into training every day and how I trained, whether it was by myself or with the group. And that is a reflection on myself."
Ben Chilwell moved to Crystal Palace in the January window on loan from Chelsea. He is yet to start a game in the Premier League, but has come off the bench thrice and has started an FA Cup game for the Eagles.
Enzo Maresca urged Ben Chilwell to leave Chelsea in the summer
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca spoke about Ben Chilwell at the start of the season and confirmed that the left-back was not in his plans. He urged the defender to leave Chelsea in the summer window and said (via One Football):
“With Chilly it’s quite clear, I love the way he trains, I love the way he is but the problem is that he struggles with us a little bit to find his best position. When you train everyday and you don’t get minutes, it’s not good for them and it’s not good for me because I need to make decisions. For some players, it’s sometimes better to leave and to go somewhere to get minutes. We will see what happens, the transfer window is open and we will see what happens.”
Ben Chilwell played just 45 minutes for Chelsea this season, which came in the League Cup against Barrow. He joined the Blues from Leicester City in the summer of 2020 and has made 107 appearances for them so far.
