Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca lavished praise on a fringe member of his squad ahead of their Champions League clash with Ajax on Wednesday.
Chelsea back to winning ways after straight victories
Chelsea’s resurgence in form since their tepid loss at home to Brighton has been a welcome boost for the club amid their real injury woes.
Despite major concerns over defensive depth, the Blues have managed to steady the ship and produce encouraging results that suggest they are finding some rhythm under Maresca.
A key storyline behind this revival has been Chelsea’s ability to cope with a severely depleted backline.
Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill, two important players, are sidelined with injuries, leaving the squad very thin at the back, with youngster Josh Acheampong repaying Maresca’s faith so far.
Enzo Fernández
Knee
Ajax
Cole Palmer
Groin
December
Dario Essugo
Thigh
Early 2026
Benoit Badiashile
Muscle
December
Liam Delap
Hamstring
November/December
Levi Colwill
ACL
Spring 2026
Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana only recently returned to fitness after their own spells out, meaning Chelsea had to navigate a tricky period with very limited defensive options, with the latter not even selected for Maresca’s last matchday squad at Nottingham Forest.
Trevoh Chalobah was also available once again after his suspension and immediately returned to the starting line-up against Forest.
While Chelsea looked far from resolute — giving the ball away carelessly in their own half on three separate occasions in the first 45 at the City Ground — Maresca’s tinkering at half-time shored his side up as the west Londoners eventually secured all three points, a clean sheet and Ange Postecoglou’s sacking in the process.
This vital win followed a statement 2-1 victory at home to Premier League champions Liverpool and all three points against José Mourinho’s Benfica in Europe, with Chelsea expected to continue this trend against Ajax.
As Maresca turns to Acheampong to provide cover for his backline, summer signing Jorrel Hato will perhaps feel quite hard done by.
The Netherlands international could face-off against his former club this evening, but has hardly been given a full game by Maresca since arriving at Stamford Bridge from the Eredivisie.
Primarily viewed as a left-back to cover Marc Cucurella, a role he shone in last season for Ajax, Hato can also operate as a centre-back when required and attracted long-term interest from Arsenal before his move to the other side of London.
The 19-year-old finished Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup but is yet to make a single Champions League appearance, starting just two of Chelsea’s eight Premier League games so far as well.
Enzo Maresca praises Jorrel Hato after Chelsea performances behind-the-scenes
According to Maresca, via his pre-Ajax press conference, Hato struggled at Chelsea initially, mainly due to the physicality of English football.
However, since then, Hato has got “better and better” behind-the-scenes and Maresca is thrilled with the teenager’s steady progress.
This is echoed by Tosin, who told reporters that Hato is impressing in Cobham training and working tirelessly every day.
The Dutchman, regardless of his very young age, was given the captain’s armband on occasion during his time at Ajax, and Maresca could well gift Hato his first European appearance for Chelsea against the club who nurtured him.
Coming to England with a stellar reputation as one of Europe’s rising defensive stars, he’s found it hard to battle his way into the first team so far, but according to Maresca, he’s doing all the right things.