Enzo Fernandez fires clear Chelsea message in response to ruthless Enzo Maresca decision

Enzo Fernandez has continued his impressive recent form with another clear message sent to Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca. The 23-year-old has struggled for consistent minutes in the Premier League this season with a midfield partnership of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia often preferred.

The Conference League has however, provided him with his last two starts and thus opportunities to impress, something he has certainly taken with both hands recently.

In the 8-0 win over Noah, Fernandez picked up three assists before surprisingly being subbed off at half-time with Maresca revealing the decision was tactical. In hindsight, the change may have also been done with an eye on that weekend's Premier League clash against Arsenal.

With the Blues a goal behind, Fernandez was brought on for the final 22 minutes and immediately made an impact as his smart pass found Pedro Neto and he subsequently fired home his first Premier League goal for Chelsea.

Prior to those four goal contributions in 67 minutes of football, Maresca issued a lengthy verdict on why Fernandez had found himself out of the starting XI, but hinted that minutes will come. "I still trust Enzo," the Chelsea boss said in his pre-Manchester United press conference earlier this month. "There is not any reason in the world I can lose confidence in him.

"The reason why he is not playing in the Premier League is because at this moment I take a different decision. My confidence is 100 per cent with Enzo. In this moment, I know you are looking for some different reasons for Enzo [not starting], but it’s very simple.

"He’s not playing in this moment, we have so many games, he’s going to play for sure in the future. And it doesn’t mean Romeo and Moi are always going to play. "It’s a matter of balance. Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is why we found the option of Malo [Gusto] in the pocket.

"Otherwise, when we play with Enzo it has to be with one of Moi or Romeo, and Enzo moves forward we struggle in the middle for physicality. At the moment that’s something Moi and Romeo give us, but it doesn’t mean for one game we can’t play with Joao [Felix] and Cole [Palmer] in the pocket. It depends on the game."

His attacking impact is clear for all to see but it is equally clear that Maresca feels as though he requires more defensively from the 23-year-old, however it may soon reach a point where his output cannot be overlooked.

Representing Argentina over the November international break, Fernandez assisted Lautaro Martinez's goal against Paraguay with a superb pass in behind. Argentina went on to lose the World Cup qualifier but yet again Fernandez was involved in the thick of the action.

The Blues have some arguably favourable fixtures coming up and with the expectation of dominating more games, Fernandez may be set for more minutes in the Premier League. The busy Christmas schedule is also firmly on the horizon and a first start since last month's draw with Nottingham Forest could therefore be coming his way.

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