Enzo Maresca At Odds With Chelsea Board Over Transfers With Levi Colwill Replacement Needed

Enzo Maresca desperately wants to sign a replacement for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill in the summer transfer window.

Maresca watched as his main central defender suffered a brutal ACL injury which will keep him sidelined for a number of months.

It was a nightmare scenario for the manager who believes Colwill is the one player at the back through whom most of Chelsea’s build-up play begins.

There remains time in the summer window for the Blues to do a deal to bring in defensive cover for Colwill and Maresca hopes that can be done sooner rather than later.

Enzo Maresca wants a new defender at Chelsea to replace Levi Colwill

The Italian former Manchester City coach did, however, explain that the boardroom money-men appear to favour a workaround that would see Chelsea instead focus on promoting from within.

But that would not sit right with the gaffer with Chelsea also hoping to sign Alejandro Garnacho in the forward areas.

“The club know exactly what I think,” Maresca said ahead of his side’s opening Premier League clash with Crystal Palace this weekend.

“I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think.”

Marc Guehi at Palace is 11/2 to potentially move from Selhurst to Stamford Bridge but the decision-makers maintain that Maresca has other options already available.

Why Colwill is so important to Chelsea

The manager, though, feels Colwill is a major part of his set-up and how Chelsea play that he will be a monumental miss.

“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle,” said Maresca.

“Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle].

“Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin. But we have Premier League, Champions League, with these kind of players.

“The rest, they can adapt. [Jorrel] Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season [with Ajax], so it’s not about being a central defender.

“Yes, [he is a] central defender but can he do that? It’s different. Also we have players that unfortunately, like Wes [Fofana] or Benoit [Badiashile], they have in this moment some [injury] problems.

Defenders already at Chelsea who could deputise for Levi Colwill

“And this is the reason why I said that the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”

Current defensive options already in the door include Renato Veiga, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Benoît Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and Aarón Anselmino.

They have been linked with Piero Hincape of Bayer Leverkusen, Nico Schlotterbeck from Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta centre-half Giorgio Scalvini. Alessandro Bastoni is also seemingly an option.