Enzo Maresca tells £52m and £62m Chelsea stars how they can force their way back in ahead of Gent game

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca faces the daunting task of keeping his players happy, but he has been helped by the additional fixtures in the League Cup, Europa Conference League, and eventually the FA Cup.

Maresca has made a brilliant start to life at Chelsea, losing only one of his first six league games and helping the team qualify for the Conference League group stage. To achieve this, he’s had to make tough decisions, including leaving players out of the first-team setup when they don’t fit into his plans.

However, there is a dilemma with Mykhailo Mudryk and £52 million signing Christopher Nkunku. Both arrived at Stamford Bridge with hefty price tags and were expected to be key players, but they’ve found themselves squeezed onto the bench due to increased competition.

When asked what Nkunku, who scored a hat-trick against Barrow, could do to get back into the team, Maresca responded: "I think Misha [Mudryk] started against Wolves in the Premier League. We’ve already given him some games. He was on the bench the other day.

"They all want to play from the start, but that’s not always possible. I think Misha did very well against Barrow. It’s never easy coming on as a substitute, but I think he did okay. Hopefully, he can have a good game tomorrow.

"It's not just about Misha. We can say the same about Christopher Nkunku. We signed him as a big player. At the moment, he’s not playing in the Premier League, but in football, things change quickly. So, for Misha, for Christo, and for all the players not starting in the Premier League, that doesn’t mean they won’t start the next game or in two games' time.

"Right now, this is just the situation. It doesn't mean it will stay like this all season. The only thing we ask of them is that when they are given a chance – whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes, or half an hour – they give everything."

Chelsea Huge Favourites

Chelsea are strong favourites for the upcoming game and for winning the competition, but they will face a test with Maresca deciding to omit Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana from the group stage of the tournament.

It will be interesting to see how the team copes without these players, but their absence is likely to open up opportunities for some of the fringe players.