Maresca admits €43m signing has 'struggled' with one part of playing for Chelsea

“Yes, we are very happy with Jorrel since he arrived,” Maresca said.

“He is trying to adapt a little bit to different competitions, English football, but we are very happy with him. The first two, three weeks he struggled a little bit in terms of physicality, in terms of intensity, but he is getting better and better.”

It certainly has been a slow introduction for Hato – despite defensive injuries, he’s played just 168 Premier League minutes across 4 appearances so far.

The next question was then about where Maresca sees the Dutch international long term. He played a lot at centre back with Ajax, but at Chelsea has mainly been used as a backup for Marc Cucurella at left back:

“I think he can play both. He is a very good player. He can be a central defender or full-back, but also he can join a midfielder, attacking phases, so I think he can play different positions.”

Tomorrow we expect to see him line up at left back against his old team, replacing Cucurella while the Spaniard is rested.

In other news…

It’s not all good news from the presser however – Maresca put some doubt on whether Enzo Fernandez would be fit to play tomorrow night after the Argentine missed the weekend’s win over Nottingham Forest, saying he needs to be “protected.”