“It won't surprise me if he starts” - Jason Cundy says Enzo Maresca should not include Chelsea superstar in line-up to face Leicester City
English football pundit Jason Cundy would not pick midfielder Enzo Fernandez in the Chelsea starting XI to face Leicester City on Saturday, November 23. He backed the midfield duo of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo to do the job, but he would not be surprised if the Argentine was picked ahead of one of them.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Cundy claimed he would not think of starting Fernandez despite Lavia's injury concerns. He wants the Chelsea midfield duo of Lavia and Caicedo to remain intact as they have done well in recent matches. He said:
"I personally wouldn't start Enzo (against Leicester City), I would stick to Lavia and Caicedo. But it won't surprise me if he starts."
Club head coach Enzo Maresca recently explained why a big price tag didn't mean the concerned player would perform at 100% in every game. Talking of why players shouldn't be called out for the price the club paid for them, he told the media (via GOAL):
"If you remember, questions were asked about Moi (Moises Caicedo) and the price the club paid for him. That is not an Enzo problem or a Moi problem. Just because the club spent £100m, people expect them to be the best player. It is not about how much you paid.
"At the end of the day, they are human beings and if you pay £100m, that is not my problem. If you want to buy me then you pay money. That does not mean that every game you have to be the best. At the end of the day, they are football players and they cannot always be at the top level."
Romeo Lavia was called up for Belgium's UEFA Nations League matches but did not play in the two games due to a hamstring issue. He returned to Chelsea to work on the niggle subsequently.
Enzo Fernandez not a part of Chelsea's best XI, claims William Gallas
William Gallas told Ganting Casino earlier this month that Enzo Fernandez did not get into Chelsea's best XI according to him. He stated that the midfield picked by Enzo Maresca in the recent league matches – Lavia and Caicedo – was perfect and the system should not be changed to accommodate the Argentine.
He said:
"The best Chelsea XI is; Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia; Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto and Nicolas Jackson. Enzo Fernandez is on the bench. The problem with him is that you need to change your whole system to accommodate him."
"You can't put Fernandez next to Caicedo because he won't defend. Fernandez's game is 65% attack and 35% defense, Neto, Palmer, Madueke and Jackson won't defend so Caicedo would have to defend by himself. That's why Lavia plays ahead of him," he added.
Chelsea are up against Enzo Maresca's former side Leicester City this week in the Premier League. The Blues are third in the league table, nine points behind leaders Liverpool.