Another Chelsea star not in Maresca's plans as international signs

It was recently revealed that one further Chelsea star, who many Blues fans expected to be involved, is in fact not in new manager Enzo Maresca's plans for the coming season. Will the left back leave the west London outfit, and what has been said by pundit and ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy? Manchester United were previously linked with former Leicester City defender Ben Chilwell at the beginning of the summer.

Elsewhere, an international winger has signed for the Stamford Bridge side. While some may have presumed Pedro Neto was older, he is actually only 24 years old. Yet, considering CFC's baffling contemporary transfer strategy, the one-time Wolverhampton Wanderers standout is therefore a relatively senior, experienced acquisition for the modern Chelsea Football Club. What does the Portugal attacker bring to Fulham Road, and what has he said since joining Maresca's squad?

Pedro Neto is a very good albeit arguably unnecessary addition

I rate Neto, let's get that out of the way firstly. It wouldn't have been much of a surprise if he had actually secured a transfer to a current Champions League outfit. He is one of those special players who can change a stale match stuck at impasse. A game-changer.

Nevertheless, the one area in which Chelsea are slightly saturated is probably the wing department. I mean, there are plenty of inadequate goalkeepers on the pay roll, and there are too many quality No.6-type midfielders for a positive balance. Yet wingers remain absolutely plentiful.

Does Neto's arrival signal the end for one of the other widemen at the Bridge? Possibly; I could certainly envision one or two being up for sale. Inevitably, a couple of wingers will be disregarded and unused for much of the 2024/25 campaign. That is, unless surplus forwards are loaned or offloaded entirely.

Raheem Sterling would potentially be a candidate to leave for several reasons, especially if he's not a Premier League starter under the Italian boss. Noni Madueke is constantly linked with a departure; Cole Palmer's positioning will affect Madueke's capacity either way.

"I feel really grateful to have joined this club. I have worked really hard in my career to be here and I’m looking forward to getting on the pitch with this shirt."

- Pedro Neto

Is Ben Chilwell wanted at Chelsea now that newly installed gaffer Enzo Maresca is at the Bridge?

I suspect that Marc Cucurella shall be the first-choice full back on the left-hand side this term. Chilwell is a great backup option - although that status will probably not suffice for the England-capped defender. And Danny Murphy concurs on the likelihood of Chilwell starting:

"'He’s not going to play', Murphy said on talkSPORT when Chilwell was named as a potential leader in Chelsea’s young and inexperienced squad.

'[Marc] Cucurella is going to play after the Euros he had and the end of the season he had. I think Chelsea fans would rather have Cucurella now.'

Asked where that leaves Chilwell, Murphy added: ‘Picking up his dough and waiting for a move.’"