“He has to be fit… mentally” – Enzo Maresca’s interesting comment on player trying to earn a start | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has just taken his press conference following Chelsea’s win over Heidenheim in the Conference League, and one of the main questions was about Jadon Sancho, the winger who made his first start since the 20th of October.

He grabbed two assists tonight on his return to the starting lineup, taking him to a total of 5 for the season from 6 starts. So of course Maresca was full of praise:

“It is very important. I said since we started, Jadon is very important to us. He is very important. He has to be fit, mentally and physically; he is going to help us a lot. Unfortunately, we did not use him in the last few games but he is showing now how important he is to us,” the manager explained.

“Especially against the teams that defend in the low block, we need that quality in the last third. Sometimes he will shoot more but I think he is going to help us a lot.”

Mykhailo Mudryk and Jadon Sancho celebrate after a Conference League goal. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Sancho faces tough battle despite good European form

For all of Maresca’s kind words, it’s still hard to see how Sancho squeezes into the team for this weekend, or even the weeks to follow. Pedro Neto had established himself as first choice before the international break, and we expect him to be restored against Aston Villa. But even when he’s out, there are so many other options for the coach to choose from: Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez are all neck and neck with Sancho trying to push their way past Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Neto in the attacking line.

So Sancho will have to keep tearing it up in the Conference League – and even then there are no guarantees.