Chelsea: Enzo Maresca opens door for Ben Chilwell to rejoin Blues squad and revive Stamford Bridge career

Enzo Maresca has opened the door for Ben Chilwell to revive his Chelsea career, suggesting the exiled defender is set to return to training with the rest of his first-team squad.

Chilwell was one of a group of players frozen out of Maresca’s plans this summer as the new manager looked to thin a bloated squad.

The England international had been doing most of his training away from the main group while the club explored options for his departure.

But a proposed loan move to the Turkish Super League failed to materialise, seemingly leaving the England international in limbo, at least until the transfer window reopens in January.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the weekend’s trip to Bournemouth, though, Maresca hinted that the 27-year-old could now be welcomed back into the fold.

“Ben now is the only one [of the exiled group] still here so probably now we’ll sit with him and find a solution,” Maresca said. “Probably, he’s going to be back with us in training sessions. At the moment he’s not training with us.

“The reason he is training apart is because the idea was for him to leave. But because we didn’t find any solution, he’s here and probably he’s going to start to train with us. We need to decide that. If we decide that, he will be one of our players.”

Chilwell made just nine Premier League starts under Mauricio Pochettino during an injury-hit campaign last term and was left out of the England squad for Euro 2024.

He has not featured in a single Chelsea matchday squad so far this season and was also left out of the Blues’s squad for the Conference League group stage earlier this month, though he could yet be included in a 25-man Premier League squad due to be confirmed on Friday.