Enzo Maresca: Out-of-favour Chelsea defender could get his chance vs Everton
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Enzo Maresca said young Chelsea defender Jorrel Hato could get his opportunity to play in Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton, and so could Andrey Santos.
Hato's situation at Chelsea is quite interesting.
He arrived at the club in the summer as a versatile left-back who could play as a centre-back, and he was a regular starter for Ajax.
The 19-year-old has played a more limited role at Chelsea, of course, but he had plenty of chances to play when several defenders at the club were out due to injuries in September and October.
Aside from Levi Colwill, most of those defenders are back in the team now, and Marc Cucurella is as reliable as usual at left back, so Hato's involvement has significantly decreased since October.
He last featured for the club with a disastrous performance in the 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League in early November.
He was partly at fault for both of Qarabag's goals.
Young players obviously make mistakes, so it is only fair if Hato is given more chances to learn on the pitch.
Maresca assured that he will get his opportunities, which could even come as soon as Saturday.
"I said already many times, they work every day to play games," the Italian said on Friday when asked about Hato's and Santos' lack of minutes.
"Now, Atalanta game, Enzo (Fernandez), Marc (Cucurella), as you said, they are playing many games.
"It's normal that the level cannot be always the same, but I don't have a doubt that Andrey is going to have his chance.
"Jorrel, exactly the same.
"And hopefully tomorrow or soon we can give them some chances."
It is safe to say that Santos is more likely to get his chance against Everton than Hato, especially since Moises Caicedo is still serving the last of his three-game Premier League suspension.
Ideally, Hato could come on as a substitute when a victory is all but secured to reduce the pressure on him, but Chelsea are not exactly in a very convincing form at the moment.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.