Chelsea transfer news: Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka likely to request January exits, says Enzo Maresca | Football News happymamay

Enzo Maresca says Ben Chilwell and Carne Chukwuemeka are likely to be the first Chelsea players to ask to leave in January due to lack of playing time.

England left-back Chilwell has made just one appearance this season which came as a first-half substitute in the 5-0 win over Barrow in the Carabao Cup.

The 27-year-old was training separately at the start of the season as he looked to move away from the club but that did not materialize and he has since been part of first-team training.

Meanwhile, Chukwuemeka have featured heavily in the Conference League, making one appearance in the competition and coming on as a substitute on three occasions.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Everton on Sunday, Maresca said: “There are players unfortunately who haven’t played for us a lot in all competitions like (Ben) Chilwell, like Carne (Chukwuemeka).”

“Maybe they are the first [to say] They want to leave because they train every day, because they want to play matches, and if they don’t play, they are probably thinking about leaving.

“Every player’s situation is a little different, so we’ll see if some of them come and knock on the door and say ‘I want to leave’ or something like that. We’ll try to find a solution.”

Maresca has encouraged Chelsea’s youngsters to stay in the first team but has not ruled out striker Marc Guyot, who scored a hat-trick in the club’s 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night, as he will go out on loan in January.

“I think with the young players like Mark (Guyo), like Josh (Acheampong), like Ty (Tyreke George), for me the best thing for them is to be with us,” Maresca said.

“They can understand every day the way we want to play, they can grow, we can teach them how we want them to play, so I think it is better that they stay with us.

“Then it also depends a little bit on the desire of the players. If Mark’s desire in this case is to have more minutes and play more, we will sit down with him and decide together.”