Reserve at Chelsea, the central defender Benoît Badiashile (23 years old, 12 appearances in all competitions this season) continues to enjoy the trust of the London club according to what he reveals RMC: according to the broadcaster, the Chelsea management has decided not to sell the player in the winter transfer market, despite interest from several clubs, including Olympique Marseille. For his part, Badiashile has no intention of leaving the Blues and wants to continue fighting to establish himself in the team. The former Monaco player therefore seems destined to remain in London during this transfer session.
Enzo Maresca, coach of the Blues, today complained about the extreme conditions that the next away match requires, given that a 16-hour round trip is needed to reach Almaty, where they will play against Astana at -11°C. After that, Chelsea will only be able to return home on Friday morning before preparing for the match against Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday: “Eight hours (of flight, ed.) in one direction is not a normal time (for a trip, ed.) for a match, but we have to go there, we have to play and we want to try to do our best, also thinking about the next match”, began Maresca.
The Italian confirmed that several first-team players will be spared for the trip, including England winger Noni Madueke, while Portuguese winger Pedro Neto will be suspended for Sunday’s match against Brentford. Youngsters Ato Ampah, Shumaira Mheuka, Harrison McMahon, Kaiden Wilson, Richard Olise and Harrison Murray-Campbell are part of the team that will leave: “Whoever is not involved tomorrow, first of all, will train, and they will have to train well,” he warned the 44 year old mister. “You never know if we might need one of the guys who will play tomorrow on Sunday. Ideally we prefer not to. We’ll land at 6am on Friday and it’s not normal for one of them, if he lands at 6am on Friday, to play again on Sunday. But if we need it, they will make the effort.”