Maresca: "I told Sancho and Felix that If they don't work properly, they won't play"

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has outlined the conditions under which forwards Jadon Sancho and João Felix will receive playing time in the team.

“I spoke with Sancho and Joao Felix when they joined and I told them: if you come here and don’t work properly, then you’re not going to play. Before they arrived the message for them was clear,” journalist Fabrizio Romano quotes Maresca as saying.

On August 21, Chelsea announced the transfer of João Felix from Atletico Madrid for a fee of €52 million. The Portuguese forward signed a contract with the Blues until the summer of 2031. Felix had previously played for the London club on loan during the second half of the 2022/23 season.

On August 31, Chelsea loaned Jadon Sancho from Manchester United until the summer of 2025. The deal also includes an obligation to buy the 24-year-old winger for around £25 million.

EPL