Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hints Blues created 'big problem' for players like Moises Caicedo & Enzo Fernandez with £100m+ transfer fees

Chelsea have spent heavily on players in recent years, notably splashing out over £100 million ($134m) on both Caicedo and Fernandez. Both players have struggled to live up to their lofty price tags since arriving at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea finishing down in sixth place last season.

Maresca arrived in the summer from Leicester and has seen his club splash out again recently by bringing in a raft of names including Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Omari Kellyman. Yet the new Chelsea boss feels that paying inflated fees may be creating "problems".

He told reporters: "The price does not have to be a problem for them, it’s something that the players can do nothing about. Sometimes players feel under pressure because the club pay too much, but this is a big problem and is a weight on the shoulders which does not help the players.”

Maresca's team are currently on a good run of form. The Blues have won three games in a row in all competitions and will hope to take all three points again on Saturday when they face Caicedo's former club Brighton in the Premier League.