Enzo Maresca urged to drop Chelsea star for Aston Villa clash

Enzo Maresca has been urged to drop ‘non-existent’ Christopher Nkunku for Chelsea’s upcoming Premier League clash against Aston Villa. Chelsea spent over £50m to sign Nkunku from RB Leipzig in 2023 but the French forward has endured a difficult time at Stamford Bridge.

Injuries limited Nkunku to just 11 Premier League appearances last season and he has played back-up to Nicolas Jackson for much of the current campaign, so much so he was linked with a move away from west London during the January transfer window. Jackson’s recent injury setback gave Nkunku a chance to impress but the 27-year-old struggled in Chelsea’s successive defeats to Brighton.

With Jackson still out, Nkunku could be asked to lead the line once again at Villa Park on Saturday but ex-Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino believes this would be a mistake. ‘We’ve seen a real drop from Chelsea, a real drop-off in performance,’ he told talkSPORT.

‘They have a real issue at centre-forward. Nkunku, I’m sorry, but you’re carrying him as a centre-forward. ‘I had no idea why Maresca selected him after the performance he put in in the cup game against Brighton. ‘He was non-existent. And what did we see in the second game against Brighton? Exactly the same performance.

‘I will give him one benefit of the doubt: he is not a centre-forward, his best play has always been off the left.’. Nkunku is clearly a talented player but Maresca is ‘not playing to his strengths’, according to former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. ‘The thing about Nkunku is I’ve seen him play a lot in Germany and I’m a massive fan of him,’ he said on The Seaman Says podcast with Betway.

‘I think he’s a really, really good player, but they don’t play to his strengths. There was one moment in the game where they did, and there was this straight, simple ball over the top, and Nkunku was lacking so much confidence. ‘He wanted to hit it with his right but should have hit it with his left, and he looked to play across a little lob to Cole Palmer and it didn’t go very far because it was a really difficult one.

‘The Christopher Nkunku from two seasons ago would have smashed it and scored. It’s a clear lacking of confidence and they’re not playing to his strengths whatsoever. ‘That’s part of the issue, and Chelsea have done that a bit over the years. They bought players that don’t really fit their system.

‘Nicolas Jackson does fit the way that Enzo Maresca wants to play. He’s hardworking, he’s pushing forward all the time, he stays up, he’ll put pressure on the defenders, whereas Nkunku is then coming, looking for the ball. ‘There was one moment in the game where he was back as a centre-half because he felt like he just wasn’t getting any ball. He was getting high, balls lobbed up to him and he’s like, what am I going to do with that?.

‘So you need to have him more involved. He’s one of those players, give him the ball, he’ll give it and go. He just doesn’t have that support around him.’. Chelsea travel to Villa Park on Saturday having won just three of their last 11 games in all competitions, dropping from second to sixth in the Premier League.

Aston Villa have also gone through a difficult run – going five league games without a win – but Unai Emery’s side held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw in midweek. Chelsea thumped Villa 3-0 in the corresponding fixture back in early December thanks to goals from Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer.

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