Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expects Enzo Fernandez to get even better as he prepares for a reunion with his former club Benfica.
The Argentina midfielder, signed from the Portuguese giants for a then British record £106.8million two years ago, took time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge.
But he excelled in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the campaign with eight goals, and has continued to shine at the Club World Cup.
The 24-year-old scored in the opening win over Los Angeles FC and created two goals in as many minutes as the Blues beat Esperance Tunis 3-0 in their final group game on Tuesday.
Their reward is a last-16 clash with Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday.
Maresca told reporters at his pre-match press conference: “I’m very pleased with Enzo, especially because, first of all, he’s a nice boy. He’s polite, he’s a good boy.
“Then he’s worked very well in all aspects inside the pitch, outside the pitch. Our struggle at the beginning was (for him) to understand the way we want to play.
“But he is doing fantastic in terms of numbers, goal assists. This is what we want from our attacking players.
“I’ve said many times that I prefer to have the attacking players score 10-12 goal each, rather than just a striker with 40 goals.
“So his contribution this season has been top and I am sure next season will be even better.”
Despite that, Fernandez could face competition for his place after Maresca suggested he sees Brazilian Andrey Santos more as an attacking player than a defensive one.
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The highly-rated 21-year-old has rejoined the club this summer after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and made his debut as a second-half substitute against Esperance.
Maresca said: “His season has been very good but I think you need time to adapt.
“In terms of position, I see Andrey in this moment in more like Enzo’s position than Romeo’s (Lavia) position.
“The Premier League demands (players) to be physically strong. In this moment, I see Andrey more of an attacking player than defensive in the field.”
Maresca added that he hopes 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong will stay with the club despite being linked with Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund.
He said: “My idea or my plan with Josh is quite clear. I think he potentially can be a top defender for this club. I feel the best plan for Josh is to be with us.”
Maresca would also like England international Trevoh Chalobah to stay, but offered no guarantees.
He said: “All the players that are here with us, I don’t want to lose them but when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen – not only for Trevoh, for (all) the 25 players of the squad.”
Maresca expects a tight contest against Benfica.
He said: “It’s going to be a balanced game, a tough game. In this kind of game the small details are very important.”
