Chelsea have hit gold on “phenomenal” star

Chelsea have made progress under Enzo Maresca, for sure.

With the business months of the 2024/25 campaign upon us, Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League standings, two points ahead of struggling Manchester City.

And what better time than now for two of the club’s defensive superstars, Reece James and Wesley Fofana, to return from their interminable injury struggles?

Chelsea’s returning superstars

Whisper it quietly, but James might just be back. The esteemed right-back started four Premier League matches since the turn of the calendar year and scored against Copenhagen last week too.

One thing’s for certain: Chelsea are a stronger team with James and Fofana both included. If they can now maintain their fitness levels and put in good graft during pre-season, Maresca might have quite the backline.

Likewise, Fofana returned recently – against his former club, Leicester City – and earned a 7/10 match rating from The Evening Standard, who singled out his strength and presence, sorely missed over the past three months as he recuperated from a hamstring injury.

Having won four duels, as per Sofascore, and ceded possession only four times despite touching the ball 71 times, Maresca must have been delighted with welcoming the Frenchman back to the fold.

While certain rearguard members will be sweating for their spots, there’s one player enjoying himself this season who certainly won’t be dropped.

Maresca has hit gold on big-money Chelsea star

Chelsea need to attack the transfer market this summer, but with Renato Veiga arriving back from his loan spell with Juventus in a few months and Marc Cucurella playing so well, there’s no reason for the west Londoners to invest heavily at left-back.

Cucurella, 26, hasn’t always had it easy since leaving Brighton & Hove Albion for Stamford Bridge in 2022, signing for a hefty £60 figure, but he’s enjoying his best campaign in blue and looks set to stay as a core part of Maresca’s plans.

Indeed, having scored and kept a clean sheet against Leicester on Sunday, the Italian tactician showered his match-winner with praise: “He is clever and is intelligent. He scored two goals against Wolves and Brentford and he is probably the smallest one in the team. This shows you how intelligent he is because he is in the right position.”

He’s not perfect; journalist Henry Winter criticised the Euro 2024 champion for some “awful defending” as Chelsea were trounced by Brighton last month, but Cucurella has come on leaps and bounds, with another analyst noting his “phenomenal” talent.

Cucurella’s improvements this season have been in part because of his new-found confidence after an incredible Euro 2024 campaign and in part due to dovetailing into Maresca’s tactical make-up.

Cucurella’s new-found goalscoring touch has been a welcome asset to a Chelsea side now always catching the eye from an attacking standpoint. It adds a dimension.

However, Cucurella is also proving himself to be crisp and robust in the challenge. Maresca’s decision to ostracise and then offload Ben Chilwell only strengthens the argument that Cucurella is the perfect man for the job.

This is reflected through the £175k-per-week ace’s market value. Football Transfers record Cucurella to boast an expected price tag of about £33m, which is admittedly a shocking drop-off from that former transfer fee.

However, his valuation languished far lower only a matter of months ago, with the defender worth merely £22m back in August, before his performances sparked a 180 that could yet see him reach loftier heights.

Given that James and Fofana are both suffering from lower values (£31m) – a by-product of their injury woes – it makes a firm comment on Cucurella’s ability and standing in the Chelsea first team.

James and Fofana are both defenders of elite-level proportions, with one striking negative trait in common. Both players have been stricken by injury blow upon injury blow over the past few years, inevitably whittling their market valuations down.

However, this shouldn’t detract from resurgent Cucurella’s progress under his Italian boss. Indeed, the Spaniard has enough quality to play a central role over the coming years for a Chelsea team targeting the very top.