6 players that Enzo Maresca has improved at Chelsea: Cucurella, Caicedo…

Chelsea have famously struggled for success in the post-Abramovich era, but there are signs they might just be on the right track again under Enzo Maresca.

We’re now into December and the Italian coach has the Blues sitting second in the Premier League table, ahead of both Arsenal and Manchester City. They look unrecognisable to the rabble that finished 12th in 2022-23 and an underwhelming sixth last term.

We’ve identified six players who have most improved under Maresca so far.

Marc Cucurella

“I’ve been really impressed by him, he’s improved so much. Often moves into that midfield position, but what’s really improved has been his 1v1 defending,” assessed former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock on Prime Video following Chelsea’s 5-1 rout of Southampton.

“He has improved immensely and has become a hugely important player for Maresca.”

We can’t disagree there. Maresca can’t claim all the credit – Cucurella was exceptional in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph over the summer – but it’s safe to say he looks unrecognisable to the player who looked so out of sorts for two seasons following his move from Brighton.

He might just be the best left-back in the Premier League on his current form.

Enzo Fernandez

Fernandez will need a more sustained run of strong performances if he’s ever to justify his Premier League record £106.8million fee.

But the 23-year-old is currently enjoying his best spell, having notched three assists and two goals in his last four Premier League outings for Maresca’s Blues.

For a long time, Chelsea’s record with the country’s most expensive footballer was nothing short of rotten.

But now we’re starting to see the dynamic, all-action midfielder that caught the eye in Qatar, deservedly named Young Player of the Tournament following Argentina’s triumph in Qatar.

Moises Caicedo

The other part of Chelsea’s wildly expensive, malfunctioning midfield pairing last season. Now we’re reminded of why he was viewed as one of the most promising youngsters in the country back at Brighton.

“When you come to a big club you always need to know that people are going to talk about you,” the Ecuadorian midfielder reflected on his time at Stamford Bridge so far, in an interview on Chelsea’s official website.

“It was me in that moment [after joining] and I suffered a little bit. But this is football and in football, this happens a lot.

“You need to be strong, to have a strong mentality, and to have good people around you to help you. I have that; my people support me in every moment and I’m so happy about that.

“I think he [Maresca] is happy with me because I always try to show him I want to help the team. He can see that in every game. I’m happy working with him, he is helping us a lot. All the players and staff are happy with how we are doing now.”

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Romeo Lavia

In fairness to Maresca’s predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, he never really had Lavia available to call upon. The Belgian starlet mustered a grand total of 32 minutes of football across his debut season with the club.

So “improved” might be stretching it, but after such a long time out on the sidelines, it’s encouraging to see the talented 20-year-old getting regular opportunities in recent weeks. He’s looked a solid option at the base of midfield.

Nicolas Jackson

Thanks to his penchant for missing presentable chances, Jackson became something of a punchline last season under Pochettino. Even when he scored his first career hat-trick against Tottenham, he couldn’t escape pelters.

But that summed up the strange paradox of Jackson. On a night where he was kind of rubbish, he scored three goals. And in a season in which he was roundly mocked for fluffing chances, he ended up with a respectable tally of 17 goals.

He’s been nothing if perseverent, but now in a more confident mood all his many quality attributes are harder to ignore.

Chelsea have famously struggled to make reliable goalscorers of their centre-forwards over the years, but they might have one here.

READ: The 11 academy kids Chelsea let go in the summer – & how they’re faring elsewhere

Noni Madueke

“Me personally, just trust, a lot of faith in me, playing me pretty much all of the games,” the forward told Prime Video, when asked about the impact Maresca’s made on his game.

“He’s just helping me with my game, with my goalscoring, all aspects of trying to become a top wide player, so all credit to him and my teammates as well and all of us. It was a great win today and we’re going for more.”

The 22-year-old has five goals and two assists so far this season, matching his tally on both counts from the entirety of last season. Those England call-ups were richly deserved.