Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca hints that one of the club’s prospects could benefit from another loan spell away from Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has given every indication that one of the club’s prospects will be leaving on loan.
After a two-week training regime, the Blues headed to the United States for their pre-season tour with a 28-player squad having been selected.
With some members of the senior ranks being left behind, it became obvious which players do not feature in Maresca’s plans, but there were several untried prospects who were selected.
At a time when Maresca is eager to establish some rhythm and continuity with a new system, it has been inevitable that some players have not received the minutes that they would have hoped for.
© Imago
Maresca gives verdict on Angelo
While Angelo Gabriel racked up 125 appearances during his time with Santos, he was unproven at the highest level when Chelsea agreed to sign him for £13m.
After a loan stint with Strasbourg, the decision was made for the 19-year-old to spend pre-season with Chelsea to determine whether he could remain in Maresca’s plans.
The signs initially looked good for Angelo when he made a positive impact in the first game against Wrexham, featuring for 45 minutes in that fixture.
However, he accumulated just 20 minutes in the encounters with Celtic and Club America, before remaining on the substitutes’ bench versus Manchester City last weekend.
As a result, it appears that Maresca would be in favour of the Brazilian going back out on loan to further his development.
Maresca said: “Angelo is with us in pre-season. He’s doing well, working well. The only thing, because of the amount of wingers we have, for the very young players, the best way to improve is to play and get minutes.
“For Angelo, in this moment, with us he’s struggled a little bit. We will see for the rest of the season [if he is] with us, or thinking if he will go on loan somewhere.”
© Reuters
Who could loan Angelo?
A return to Strasbourg cannot be ruled out. Angelo contributed four goals and made a total of 21 appearances in Ligue 1 before being ruled out from March onwards through injury.
Nevertheless, Chelsea officials face a complex process to determine who takes up the remainder of their five foreign loan slots, with Andrey Santos having already secured a reunion with the French outfit.
Much will depend on whether there is Premier League and Championship interest in other players. In the case of Angelo, Chelsea will not want to drop him down to the second tier of English football, while only a low-end Premier League side may be prepared to sign him as a squad player on a temporary basis.