Enzo Maresca has admitted that Alejandro Garnacho is ‘not 100 per cent fit’ but could still make his Chelsea debut against Brentford on Saturday night.
Chelsea can continue their unbeaten start and go top of the Premier League table when they travel to the G-tech Community Stadium to take on their local rivals.
Once again, their squad was shaken up over the summer, with 10 new players arriving, including Garnacho who completed his long-anticipated £40million transfer from Manchester United just before deadline day.
The 21-year-old had long been linked with Chelsea and after being exiled from United’s first-team by Ruben Amorim, he had his heart set on a move to west London.
He could make his Blues debut against the Bees on Saturday but that could be risky given he did not have a proper pre-season, with his last match, competitive or otherwise, being the Europa League final defeat in May, where he played just 19 minutes.
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Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Maresca said he was happy with how Garnacho is settling in but suggested he was nowhere near ready to start yet.
‘He is working well. For sure, he needs to work because he arrived here not 100 per cent fit,’ the head coach said of his new left-winger.
‘He needs to work. He is working well and we will see. But hopefully soon we can give him minutes.’
Garnacho also faces strong competition for a place in the starting XI from Pedro Neto, fellow summer signing Jamie Gittens and Tyrique George.
In a boost to Maresca, the forward was not called up to the Argentina squad for the international break, allowing him to train at Chelsea and avoid a tiring journey back from South America.
Will Alejandro Garnacho be a success at Chelsea?
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Yes
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No
That is an issue four players – namely Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro, Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian – have had to contend with however, with Maresca suggesting that the quartet might not be able to play on Saturday.
‘The three Brazilian players arrived yesterday but didn’t train,’ the Italian added. ‘Moi arrived last night – I didn’t see him, I will see him today.
‘For all of them it is a question mark for tomorrow. When they play in Bolivia, it’s difficult. Hopefully they can be back soon.’
Maresca also revealed that while Cole Palmer has returned to training, he is very likely to miss the trip to Brentford as he continues to recover from a groin injury.
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