Maresca warned over Chelsea's title chances as Blues have interest in £35m young duo

Enzo Maresca has been told where he must improve if he is to build on his impressive start to life as Chelsea manager and convert his side into genuine Premier League title challengers.

The former Manchester City coach was a somewhat surprise choice to take charge at Stamford Bridge during the summer - but the Blues hierarchy make a quickfire move for the Italian after he had led Leicester City back into the Premier League at the first attempt. After a largely positive opening two months to the new season, the Blues are sat in and around the Champions League places - but one pundit believes there is still work to do if Maresca is to bring his side into contention for major honours on a regular basis.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game with Liverpool, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher stressed two key positions when Maresca must improve if Chelsea are the become genuine challengers for the Premier League title over the coming seasons.

He said: "In terms of going for a title challenge next season they would still have to rectify the goalkeeping situation and someone up top. You can build a squad to get to where you are now and the top four, but you need gamechangers (to challenge for the title) and Liverpool did that in terms of bringing Alisson in, that made a huge difference for them."

Blues set demands for in-demand defender

Chelsea will only consider selling Malo Gusto if they receive an offer that more than doubles what they paid for him in January 2023.

Spanish outlet Fichajes have reported the Blues have reacted to interest in the young full-back by placing a sizeable price tag on his head. The report states Chelsea will demand a fee of over £53m before they would even consider allowing Gusto to leave the club in the future and that would represent a significant profit on the £24m they paid Lyon to secure the France Under-21 star. Paris Saint-Germain are said to be monitoring Gusto’s progress - but ‘could choose to leave the race’ for his signature after discovering Chelsea’s demands.

Chelsea midfielder has Serie A and La Liga interest

Cesare Casadei could bring an end to a frustrating time with Chelsea after reports linked the midfielder with a January move away from the club.

The ten-times capped Italy Under-21 international was widely expected to leave Stamford Bridge during the summer months - but he remained part of Maresca’s squad despite being the subject of interest from elsewhere. Casadei is yet to make a Premier League appearance under his compatriot but did play the entire 90 minutes of the Carabao Cup win against Barrow and also played in a Europa Conference League victory against Belgian club KAA Gent.

Despite struggling for game-time so far this season, Casadei is reportedly on the wishlist of several clubs around European football as thoughts turn towards the January transfer window. Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb have claimed Serie A duo Fiorentina and Atalanta showed an interest in the midfielder during the summer and could reignite their interest in the new year - but they will face competition from Villarreal, who are said to have already lodged their interest with Chelsea.