Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea do not ‘miss’ Joao Felix following the forward’s loan move to AC Milan, despite attacking injuries since his departure.
Even though Chelsea exited the FA Cup at the hands of Brighton on Sunday, only able to score once – via an own goal, at that – against a side that shipped seven against Nottingham Forest only a week earlier, Maresca wasn’t sorry about not having Felix anymore.
Felix made the deadline day switch to AC Milan for the remainder of the season, ending a sorry few months in which he was unable to command a regular Chelsea place following a permanent big money summer return. Maresca’s comments came in the wake of Chelsea’s attacking players being rated poorly against Brighton. Nicolas Jackson, who came in for praise due to his absence showing his importance, and Marc Guiu are currently sidelined with injuries, only underlining Maresca’s apparent dislike of Felix as a player for his system.
Maresca said after the 2-1 defeat that saw Chelsea exit the FA Cup at the fourth round stage: “I don’t think we miss Joao. Joao is happy [at AC Milan] and we are happy Joao is happy there. We had two striker injuries on deadline day, it is something difficult to think. Nico [Jackson] can be back very soon. Sometimes I think you need to play some games without players to realise how important they are. Off the ball, [Jackson’s] pressing is always very good and, on the ball, he is a threat always.”
Jackson’s return is hugely important to Chelsea. The Senegal international was described last week as not having a “long” injury, with Maresca raising the possibility that he could have been back for Brighton. That was considered too much of a risk in the end, but at least suggests he is close to a return. What his absence does do, with the lack of cover options in the squad, is highlight how much Chelsea need to recruit another striker in the summer.
