Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca aims dig at João Félix: Don’t miss him

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has aimed a dig at on-loan forward João Félix, saying his team “don’t miss” the now-AC Milan player despite their growing injury list.

The west London club were knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton on Saturday with Christopher Nkunku making a rare start as the central striker after injuries ruled out Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu.

Chelsea signed Félix on a permanent deal at the end of the summer transfer window from Atlético Madrid for a fee of €50 million ($55.4m) including add-ons, though the Portugal international struggled to make a stamp on the Premier League, scoring just once in 12 games and starting just three times.

He was subsequently loaned to Milan on a six-month deal on deadline day, though there is no purchase option included.

“I don’t think we miss João. He’s happy there [Milan] and we’re happy that he’s happy,” Maresca said when asked about his decision to allow Félix to depart.

“Two injuries on the last day of the transfer window. It’s a tough one. Nico [Jackson] could be back soon. Sometimes I think we need to play a few games without certain players to realise their importance.”

In his news conference ahead of the Brighton game on Friday, Maresca told reporters that the decision to let the player leave was nothing personal and came down to not being able to give the player enough game time.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed an excellent start to his career in Italy, scoring on his debut as Milan beat Roma 3-1 in the Coppa Italia and playing 84 minutes in their 2-0 win over Empoli in Serie A on Saturday.