'Only wanted' - Fabrizio Romano reveals Ben Chilwell stance on Chelsea exit amid Enzo Maresca claim

Ben Chilwell suddenly has the chance to return to contention for Chelsea having been training with the club’s so-called ‘bomb squad’ over the last couple of months. Enzo Maresca quickly decided that Chilwell would not be part of his plans and the club looked to sell him.

Although, no deal was found, with Chilwell determined to stay and fight for his place, and Maresca has been left with little choice but to welcome the experienced defender back into his squad. “Now we’ll sit with him and find a solution,” Maresca in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“The reason he is training apart is because the idea was for him to leave. But because we didn’t find any solution, he’s here and probably he’s going to start to train with us. We need to decide that. If we decide that, he will be one of our players.”

Chilwell will be battling with the in-form Marc Cucurella for the left-back sport, and he faces an uphill battle to get playing time as a result. But few should be surprised by Chilwell’s refusal to depart, according to transfer ‘insider Fabrizio Romano.

“This summer there were clubs interested in Ben Chilwell, but the player wasn’t simply going to accept everything just because Chelsea wanted him to find a solution,” he told CaughtOffside.

“He only wanted to accept important proposals and he’s prepared to fight to get back into Maresca’s thoughts as a concrete option for the starting XI as soon as possible. It’s something we should all respect. There are contracts in football and sometimes players are not willing to leave.”

Chilwell has struggled with injury issues aplenty, but he is still only 27 years of age and he is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2027. It looks as though he will now have until at least January to fight for his place.