Chelsea boss Enzo Marseca has been speaking to the media before Thursday’s Uefa Conference League play-off second-leg at Servette (kick-off 19:30 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Maresca confirmed that Romeo Lavia and Reece James are still out through injury, while Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto are not included to give them “protection”.
On if he will be happy when the transfer window closes on Friday: “I think it’s a feeling for all the managers because when the transfer window is open, anything can happen – we can sell players, we can buy players, we can loan players. So the moment the transfer window is closed, it is closed for everyone and we can just focus on the squad we have.”
With Chelsea one of the busiest sides in the market this summer, Maresca said it is “not a mad club” as since he arrived “there is a clear direction of where the club wants to go”.
On what Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney links mean for Nicolas Jackson: “I didn’t speak to Nicolas about this. I had a meeting with Nicolas yesterday but just about the amount of good things he is doing with us. I don’t think Nicolas needs a chat. He is our nine, our striker in this moment. We are very happy with him.”
He confirmed none of the players training away from the main squad will get minutes after deadline day and, on Raheem Sterling, added: “I said already many times, he is a fantastic person. The only thing is that every manager has a different idea. He is not the type of winger I like, that says nothing about Raheem. The history and the numbers speak for Raheem.”
On reports that the club are interested in Manchester United‘s Jadon Sancho: “If we can sign a player that can help us, for sure I would. Jadon is not our player. I know him very well from Man City, but he is not our player.”
Maresca said the pitch at Servette’s Stade de Geneve “doesn’t look good”, adding: “We need to be good and to adapt, otherwise we’re going to struggle.”
