Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has assured Christopher Nkunku he still has a future at Stamford Bridge amid reports of a possible January move departure.
After missing most of last season due to injury, Nkunku has failed to break into the Maresca starting lineup this year, acting as a backup to Nicolas Jackson and instead playing most of his minutes in the Conference League.
There were reports claiming that Nkunku had become frustrated with his role in the Chelseawith Barcelona said they were looking into a possible transfer.
Maresca, however, has made it clear he wants to keep Nkunku, but admitted he will not stand in the way of any player wanting to leave.
“We like Christo and we want him here and there will always be players who are not happy,” Maresca said. “I’m not sure if that’s going to be Christo’s case. We want to keep him here because we’re happy with him.
“We don’t think about players who want to leave. We don’t think that this or that player has to leave. We just think about how to win games. If they knock on the door and want to leave, I’m not going to say, ‘No, no, you have to stay here , 100%’.
“If they want to leave, the best thing for everyone is that players who are not happy will leave.”
Maresca previously admitted that other fringe players such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Guiu will have to decide whether they are happy to continue fighting for starting minutes, with Chelsea unwilling to part ways with the vast majority of players unless they request a move.
However, the likes of Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka, who are firmly at the bottom of the table under Maresco, are expected to be available for a switch in January.
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