Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca explains decision to bench £107m Enzo Fernandez as he fires warning about 'levels dropping' ahead of Man Utd clash

Fernandez captained the side at the start of the season following Maresca's arrival at Stamford Bridge but has since fallen out of favour. The Argentina international was benched for Premier League games against Liverpool and Newcastle and his only recent starts have come in the Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup. Maresca has favoured Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo instead in midfield and has explained his thinking ahead of his team's next Premier League game against United on Sunday.

He told reporters: "I still trust Enzo. There is not any reason in the world I can lose confidence in him. The reason why he is not playing in the Premier League is because at this moment I take a different decision. My confidence is 100 per cent with Enzo. In this moment, I know you are looking for some different reasons for Enzo [not starting], but it’s very simple. He’s not playing in this moment, we have so many games, he’s going to play for sure in the future. And it doesn’t mean Romeo and Moi are always going to play. At the moment one of them drops [their levels], probably we will change it.

"It’s a matter of balance. Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is why we found the option of Malo [Gusto] in the pocket. Otherwise, when we play with Enzo it has to be with one of Moi or Romeo, and Enzo moves forward we struggle in the middle for physicality. At the moment that’s something Moi and Romeo give us, but it doesn’t mean for one game we can’t play with Joao [Felix] and Cole [Palmer] in the pocket. It depends on the game."

Fernandez has endured a difficult few months at Chelsea. He made headlines for all the wrong headlines in the summer after being filmed singing a racist chant during Argentina's Copa America celebrations. Fernandez apologised to his team-mates, amid reports of a rift, and did face disciplinary action from Chelsea. The midfielder was also banned from driving for six months in September and has recently separated from his wife.

Chelsea's big-money buy now has his work cut out convincing Maresca he deserves a place back in his starting XI, particularly with the Blues boss working with a large squad at Stamford Bridge. Fernandez may have to settle for a place on the bench again at Old Trafford on Sunday but could be handed a start on Thursday against Noah in the Conference League.