Enzo Maresca insisted honesty is the best policy when it comes to keeping his squad happy ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Brighton on Saturday.
The Blues manager made 11 changes in their 5-0 Carabao Cup victory over Barrow on Tuesday, where Christopher Nkunku scored his first hat-trick for the club.
Maresca, however, has preferred the in-form Nicolas Jackson as his starting striker in his opening five league matches. Jackson was at the heart of the Blues’ 3-0 triumph at West Ham last week with the forward netting two and assisting Cole Palmer for the third.
The Italian manager believes holding honest conversations with the likes of second-choice Nkunku on his playing time is key to keeping team morale high.
Maresca told reporters on Friday: “I be honest, I be honest with (Nkunku) and I’m honest with all of them. I’ve said it many times since day one that we can’t play with seven or eight attacking players as there is no defensive balance.
“In this moment Nico (Jackson) played last time in the Premier League and scored two goals, Christopher played the other day and scored three, this is good. It’s important they compete with each other.”
Marc Cucurella has started all five of Chelsea’s league matches this season as he starts to look worthy of the reported £62million fee the Blues paid to Brighton in 2022.
The versatile Spaniard, who helped his national team to European Championship glory in the summer, has featured in both defence and attack under Maresca who lauded his professionalism.
“Marc is very important, he has something which sometimes you struggle to find in players,” he added.
“Marc is good and he’s making the players around him better because he’s a guy who’s talking, demanding and when you have five or six players like Marc in the team, it’s something important and I’m very happy with him.”
The Blues prepare to host Fabian Hurzeler’s unbeaten Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. A win for Chelsea would be a third in succession in the league, having beaten Bournemouth and West Ham, and fourth in all competitions.
Hurzeler, at 31 years old the youngest full-time manager in the history of the Premier League, has earned the admiration of the Chelsea boss ahead of their meeting.
“He’s doing a fantastic job, I watched some of his games last year at the other team in Germany (St. Pauli) and I can see clearly the idea,” Maresca said.
“When you join a club where the previous manager was playing more or less the same way, it helps a lot, my big friend Roberto De Zerbi was there, so he’s continuing this style and it’s helping a lot.”
