Enzo Maresca hopes Chelsea will be boosted by the return of five first team players by the time his side play Tottenham Hotspur on April 2. Chelsea suffered another setback this week when a scan on Nicolas Jackson showed his hamstring problem sustained against West Ham United was more serious than first thought and leaves the striker facing six weeks on the sidelines.

Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell will spend the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Crystal Palace. Already departed in January were Carney Chukwuemeka, Renato Veiga and Cesare Casadei, while winger Mykhailo Mudryk is facing a lengthy ban for a doping violation.

Enzo Maresca has condemned the ‘completely wrong’ decision for Chelsea to play on transfer deadline day after losing both Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu to injury in the final hours of the January window.