Maresca 'told by Nkunku' at Chelsea - 'Do you dare carry on leaving me out?'

Christopher Nkunku sent a message to Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca to start him the Premier League with his goal against Heidenheim, according to Ian Darke and Lucy Ward.

The striker has endured a frustrating campaign in the Premier League, with just one of his 11 appearances in the division coming as a starter.

By contrast he has excelled in the Conference League, and continued his fine form in that division on Thursday night with his 11th goal of the season (28th November).

With Chelsea travelling to Germany to face Heidenheim, Nkunku missed a clear opportunity to score when he dinked an effort onto the roof of the opposition while through one on one in the first half.

He would make amends after the break though in the 51st minute, when he did well to control Jadon Sancho’s cross into the area, before firing home for his seventh goal in six Conference League games this season.

The TNT Sports commentary team then suggested that could put Maresca under pressure to start Nkunku in the Premier League.

Speaking after the goal, his 11th in all competitions this season, Darke said (6:56pm): “Only one of those goals has come in the Premier League, the winner at Bournemouth, as chances have been very, very limited.

“But he’s one of those really who’s trying to say to Enzo Maresca, ‘Just look how good I am around goal, do you dare carry on leaving me out?'”

Ward replied: “That’s all they can do, all these players can do is play well.”

Christopher Nkunku stuck behind Nicolas Jackson for Chelsea

Football Insider Opinion

There is no denying that Nkunku has produced some stunning form in Europe for Maresca’s side so far this season.

While that is impressive though, it is worth noting that Nicolas Jackson has been in similarly good form playing at centre-forward in the Premier League.

It would therefore be hard for Maresca to drop him from the starting XI in the Premier League, in order to give Nkunku a chance in that competition for Chelsea.

Of course, there is an argument that Jackson is making that impact in the top-flight in England, against higher level opposition than Nkunku is in the Conference League.

That may make it a risk for the Blues’ boss to make that change to his starting lineup at centre-forward when it comes to domestic action.

Even so, it’s been suggested that Nkunku is unhappy with his situation at Stamford Bridge, and will expect his form in Europe to be enough to make a claim for him to start in the Premier League.

So if he continues to feel overlooked despite continuing his good form, that will create even more frustration for him, and could be a problem for Maresca at Chelsea, at a time when he already has other selection issues to consider.

In other news, an update has emerged on Chelsea’s attempts to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town.

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