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Ben Chilwell has been handed a Chelsea lifeline after head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed he is under consideration for selection after returning to training with the first team.
The England defender appeared to have no future at Stamford Bridge in August when he was not included in the core group of 22 or 23 players the Italian considered to be his first-team squad, and was told he could leave.
However, he has been named amongst the club’s 25-man squad eligible to play in the Premier League, and ahead of Saturday’s trip to face West Ham Maresca said the situation had changed.
“Ben is one of the guys who was ready to leave, but he’s here and he’s training with us,” he said. “He’s training well.
“He’s our player. The situation with him was very clear, but now the situation has changed a little bit. Game after game we are going to consider in case we are going to use him.”
The head coach would not comment on whether the 27-year-old was in contention to be named in the squad for the game at the London Stadium, though midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are available after injury.
However, captain Reece James, who is yet to play this season, and his natural stand-in at right-back, Malo Gusto, are out.
Maresca said he had no issue with new signing Jadon Sancho receiving a yellow card 11 minutes into his Chelsea debut during the win at Bournemouth.
The Manchester United loanee was booked for dissent shortly after coming on as a half-time substitute in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium, a match that broke the Premier League record for the most yellow cards shown in a fixture.
Sancho joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day on a deal until the end of the season and is looking to restart his career having fallen out of favour at United.
“If a player comes and doesn’t look motivated or passionate, it’s a problem,” said Maresca. “Now a player comes and looks passionate and motivated, it’s a problem? It’s not a problem.
“It just shows his desire. I don’t think there was any kind of discipline problem in that game. Jadon showed what we expected from him.
“Not only in that 45 minutes, but also in the day by day, the way he is working, it’s fantastic. Hopefully it can continue in that way.”
Maresca echoed his agreement with Manchester City midfielder Rodri over his warning that players could go on strike if concerns about fixture congestion are not listened to by FIFA.
Chelsea are due to join City in the inaugural Club World Cup next summer, though there has been widespread opposition to the tournament, particularly in light of the expanded formats for UEFA competitions this season.
“They (FIFA) decide that kind of competition and we try to adapt,” said Maresca. “But in terms of number of games, there are too many games.”
