Chelsea have reportedly ruled out moves for four big-name players this summer, despite Enzo Maresca being keen to add more experience to his ranks. The Blues have one of the youngest squads in the Premier League, with no player over the age of 28 making a single appearance for the club this season.
And Maresca has hinted at the need to sign experienced players in the summer, stating: “We are not [just] young. We are the youngest team in the Premier League. And the second in European football.
“Look at the games against Brighton away and see our bench, we have three players born in 2006. I don’t remember years ago, for instance, when [Didier] Drogba was here and the manager changed Drogba who was on the bench.
“Fernando Torres? I don’t know. I don’t remember. Now we change Nico [Jackson] with 2006, Tyrique [George] from the academy. You see that? I see that.”
Chelsea were interested in signing Virgil van Dijk on a free transfer from Liverpool, but the 33-year-old ended up agreeing a two-year contract extension instead. Kevin de Bruyne had been linked with a potential return to Stamford Bridge after it was announced that he will be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season.
However, according to a report from the Telegraph, Chelsea are not interested in signing the midfielder amid concerns over how they could fit both De Bruyne and Cole Palmer into the same team.
The report also states that moves for experienced strikers Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Ollie Watkins are ‘unlikely’. It is claimed that Chelsea are not simply looking to sign ‘older players’, but are instead eyeing moves for players with plenty of first-team experience no matter how old they are.
“I love Van Dijk,” Maresca said when asked about Chelsea’s interest in the Liverpool captain. “He’s a fantastic player and he’s going to be at Liverpool again. In terms of experience, I think next year our squad will have more experience and then we can be better.
“For sure, when you have experience you have something more, no doubt. But the ones that struggle this year in terms of experience, they have already one more year in terms of experience. Next year they can be better.”
Chelsea currently sit two points off the Champions League places with four games left to play and Maresca has admitted that failure to qualify for the tournament will affect the club’s transfer plans.
“Today, football is not like five or ten years ago when the rules were different,” he said. “Today’s rules, you have to be careful how much you spend because you can be banned [from competitions] or not in the right place.
“It will be a completely different kind of target if we finish in the Champions League or not.”
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