Chelsea are looking to offload a number of players from their squad before the window shuts next week, including Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling , but they could still make a new signing.
If we have [the] chance to bring a No9 that can help us, we are going to try
Enzo Maresca
And asked about some Chelsea fans thinking the club needs to sign a No9, Maresca said: “Because of Marc? I love Marc. You know why I love Marc? Because the way he works tonight, he is doing exactly the same every day, running behind everyone and this is deserving of his chances.
“At the end, he is not scoring but, as I said, if we have [the] chance to bring a No9 that can help us and make the difference, we are going to try. Otherwise, we are okay.
“We don’t need to sign players just for [the sake of] signing players. If we sign players that they are going to help us to improve, for sure we need players. Otherwise, we are happy in the way we are.”
Joao Felix watching on as Chelsea beat Servette (Getty Images)
Chelsea head to Wolves on Sunday and Felix could be involved for the first time since returning to Chelsea. The forward spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Stamford Bridge and Maresca is excited to see him in action.
“In terms of knowing the way we want to play, probably not yet,” said Maresca, when asked if Felix was ready to be thrown into action this weekend. “In terms of physicality, I think he is ready because he was already playing games there [at Atletico Madrid].
“So it is just to understand if he needs more time to understand the way we want to play, but overall I think he can play.
“You see him as a No9, for me he can do that fantastic - dropping and giving us an extra man when we need more passes, more possession and then find the right moment to attack. I think he can do that very good.
“He can play as an attacking midfielder. If as well we also need, he can play out wide. He can play in different positions.”
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