Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is bracing for a rush of players seeking an exit this festive season despite their push for the title, acknowledging that stars like Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka may get their wish as he looks to downsize his hefty squad.
Despite adeptly juggling his team across various contests, Maresca faces a challenge with Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup and no European fixtures until March.
With the club poised to bring in even more new talent next month, Maresca concedes there will be departures. He said: "There are players who unfortunately didn’t play a lot with us in all the competitions, like Chilwell, like Carney.
"They are probably the first who want to leave because they work every day, they train every day. They want to play games, and if they don’t play games probably they are thinking to leave.
"I think each player is in a different situation so we are going to see if any of them is coming to knock on the door and say: ‘I want to leave.’ We will try to find a solution. Personally I am not worried about the next three months, if the players are happy or not.
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"All I can say is that we still have many games and if they do the right things and work properly they are all going to have chances to play.
"For instance next week we have three games and the FA Cup will start in January. We try to pick the right ones for each game, and then we’ll see."
Chelsea's UEFA Conference League journey continued in style with a 5-1 thrashing of Shamrock Rovers, securing their spot in the last 16 with an impeccable record.
Now, coach Maresca faces the tricky task of deciding whether to bolster his squad with talents like Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia for the knockout phase.
This pivotal choice, set for February 6, risks upsetting some fringe players who have so far enjoyed their time in the competition.
Maresca remarked: "It depends what happens in January and then we decide." He also noted the club's stance on transfers: "We don’t want to sell players, but players who are not playing a lot will be a bit unhappy."
As Chelsea gear up for a clash with Everton this weekend, a victory could catapult them to the top of the table, piling pressure on Liverpool who play later on Sunday. However, Maresca downplayed the game's importance, stating: "I don’t think there is any pressure on us.
"We try to focus on the game, not on the consequence that we can be leader for a few hours. I don’t think they have any pressure on the consequence of a win. First of all, you have to win! I don’t know that if we win, Liverpool will feel any pressure.
"It is more a question for them. They will have two games less than us so I don’t think there is pressure for them."
