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CAICEDO OUT: ENZO MARESCA NAMES SURPRISE MIDFIELD REPLACEMENT
Chelsea faces a midfield gap with Caicedo suspended. Maresca trusts Andrey Santos is ready and acknowledges the challenge of managing key player Reece James's fitness smartly.
Enzo Maresca says Chelsea needs to be smart about managing Reece James’ fitness as they prepare to face Leeds United.
The Blues captain has proven to be a solid midfield option, stepping into the role during Sunday's game against Arsenal after Moises Caicedo was sent off and performing well.
With Caicedo now suspended for three games, there's a big gap in Chelsea’s midfield.
Although playing James in that position is appealing, Maresca hinted at Tuesday's press conference that he might rest James at Elland Road.
James is also an option at right back. The Chelsea coach is prepared to decide where he plays based on who they're up against.
‘It’s tricky. I’d like to start him, but we have to be smart,’ Maresca said.
‘He can play in both spots. He’s played fullback most of his career, but he’s also played midfield.
‘I think he’s good in both roles. If we play him in midfield, it’s usually because we want that physical presence in the middle. It depends on the game plan, but he’s doing great in both positions.’
Maresca names a surprising option to replace Caicedo in midfield.
Maresca is confident that Andrey Santos can fill the void left by Caicedo’s suspension. He also mentioned another Chelsea player who could step into the midfield role.
Caicedo received a straight red card in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal after a reckless challenge on Mikel Merino in the first half.
Despite his protests, the referee quickly changed the yellow card to a red, resulting in a three-game suspension.
Caicedo will miss the Leeds game, Saturday’s match against Bournemouth, and the home game against Everton on December 13.
This leaves a significant gap in the midfield, where Caicedo has been in great form. However, Chelsea has a good young player in Santos, who played well against Burnley after the international break when Caicedo was benched.
Santos had a great loan spell at Strasbourg last year, but has only started three Premier League and Champions League games this season.
Maresca believes the 21-year-old is now ready to step up. He also mentioned academy player Josh Acheampong, a centre-half, as another possible option.
For sure, we’re a better team with Cole [Palmer], with Moi [Caicedo], and with Levi [Colwill, out with an ACL injury], but when these players aren’t available, we need to find solutions, Maresca said at a press conference on Tuesday.
‘Now we need to do things a bit differently.
‘Andrey is ready. He plays as a No. 6, like Moi, and he’s ready. Josh [Acheampong] can also play well in that position, but we’ll see.’
DID LIAM ROSENIOR’S PAST AS A PUNDIT INFLUENCE HIS DEFENSIVE STRATEGY AT ARSENAL?
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior hits back at critics after a defensive approach saw the Blues exit the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Liam Rosenior stood by his cautious approach after Chelsea couldn’t overturn their first-leg deficit against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Down 3-2 from the first match, Chelsea never really put Arsenal under pressure at the Emirates. In the end, Kai Havertz—of all people—put the game to bed in stoppage time, scoring against his old club.
Rosenior switched things up, going with a back three and playing it safe. He wanted to keep the game close and try to push hard late on. He brought on Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60th minute, hoping for a spark, but Chelsea still couldn’t carve out real chances. Arsenal just wouldn’t budge.
Pundits didn’t love Rosenior’s tactics and let him know it. He brushed it off. “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “If I go all-out and press high, we could give away two early goals, and then everyone asks what I’m thinking. That’s just how it is. Lose, and you’re hammered. Win, and you’re a genius. Usually, it’s somewhere in the middle.”
Chelsea were up against the league leaders, and with both Reece James and Pedro Neto missing due to minor injuries, Rosenior planned to hang in there and try to frustrate Arsenal—and maybe turn the mood in the stadium.
“That was the idea. You saw it,” he said. “I thought the psychological side of the tie mattered, and you could feel it in the stadium too. At 60 minutes, I brought on Cole and Estevao, and suddenly we had some moments around the box. I think people sensed this game could flip.”
It didn’t happen, though. Rosenior said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort, and in the end, Arsenal’s clinching goal came while Chelsea were throwing everything forward, desperate to turn things around.
IS JOãO PEDRO ACTUALLY BETTER THAN LIVERPOOL’S £79M HUGO EKITIKé? THE STATS REVEAL ALL
Liam Rosenior makes history as Chelsea win three in a row! Discover why João Pedro is the Premier League's best summer signing.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in 2022, they've been anything but quiet in the transfer market. In just three and a half years, they've signed 54 new senior players and spent well over £1 billion.
Some of these signings haven’t even made it onto the pitch for the first team—guys like Gaga Słonina, Ângelo Gabriel, Omari Kellyman, and Caleb Wiley, just to name a few. But others have really made their mark. Think Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and, of course, Cole Palmer. Now, the question is, has one of Chelsea’s latest summer signings done enough to join that group? Is he about to become one of the Premier League’s signings of the season?
Let’s talk about Chelsea’s summer addition and what he’s bringing to the table. It’s been a great week for Liam Rosenior’s squad. On Saturday night, they were 2-0 down at halftime to West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Somehow, they turned it around and won 3-2, with Enzo Fernández scoring in stoppage time to seal it.
That win made it three league victories in a row for Rosenior. He’s now only the fourth English manager to start his Premier League career with three straight wins—joining Bobby Gould, Sam Allardyce, and Craig Shakespeare. Not bad company at all.
Just three days earlier, Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League round of 16 after a wild 3-2 win away at Napoli. Down 2-1, João Pedro scored twice in the second half to turn the game around. The Brazilian’s goal at the weekend kicked off Chelsea’s comeback, bringing his total to 15 goals for the club—including three at the Club World Cup. So, how does he stack up against other strikers who switched clubs last summer?
Looking at the numbers, here’s how the new strikers have done since moving in the summer of 2025:
Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool, £79m): 15 goals (10 PL, 2 UCL)
João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m): 12 goals (9 PL, 3 UCL)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal, £54.8m): 11 goals (6 PL, 4 UCL)
Nick Woltemade (Man United, £69m): 9 goals (7 PL, 1 UCL)
Benjamin Šeško (Man City, £66.3m): 6 goals (5 PL)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125m): 3 goals (2 PL)
Liam Delap (Spurs, £30m): 2 goals (1 PL, 1 UCL)
Only Ekitiké has scored more than João Pedro across all competitions, but Liverpool paid about £20m more for him than Chelsea paid for Pedro. In the whole Premier League, only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Antoine Semenyo, and Ekitiké have more league goals than Pedro’s nine.
But stats aside, Chelsea just look more dangerous with Pedro leading the attack. Their last league defeat? He started that one on the bench at Craven Cottage. Since Rosenior took over, Pedro has started and scored in every match.
Chelsea have brought in plenty of players from Brighton during the BlueCo era, but with the way things are going, João Pedro might end up being the best of the bunch.
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