During the final weeks of the summer transfer window, the Chelsea manager exiled a large number of players from training in a clear message that they were not wanted at Stamford Bridge.
The ‘bomb squad’, as they became known, featured over £300million worth of high-profile stars including Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku and Trevoh Chalobah.
Young midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei were also said to be on the transfer list, the former just a year after moving from Aston Villa for £20m.
There was much interest in Chukwuemeka from the likes of Manchester United and Crystal Palace, with Chelsea willing to loan him out, but both he and Casadei failed to secure a move before the UK transfer deadline last Friday.
While they still could move abroad to a country where the window remains open like Turkey or Belgium, The Athletic report that the pair will not leave the club and will be brought back into Maresca’s squad.
The Blues u-turned on selling Casadei after Lesley Ugochukwu was loaned to Southampton, and the 21-year-old was back on the bench for the draw with Palace last Sunday.
It still seems unlikely that he’ll get much game time however and the same goes for Chukwuemeka who is yet to appear in a matchday squad this season
Maresca previously suggested that the 20-year-old needed to leave Chelsea in order to play, saying: ‘Carney, I think he is a very good player. With us, is he going to play 35 games? I’m not sure.
‘The problem is, because of some injuries in the past, I think the best for him is to play 30 or 35 games in a row, to show himself that he is fit and how good he is because he is very good.’
But while the midfielders at least have a chance to play for Chelsea again, the same cannot be said for Chilwell and David Datro Fofana.
The left-back and striker were linked with various Premier League clubs but are still in west London, with the Blues now attempting to ship them off abroad.
According to The Times, Chilwell has been tipped to move to a Turkish side on loan which would get his £200,000-a-week salary off the wage bill, while Fofana is closely linked to Greek side AEK Athens.
