"We think he’s a good player" - Enzo Maresca says Chelsea new signing is not going to be an important player this season

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said new signing Mathis Amougou won't be a key part of plans this season. The 19-year-old Frenchman arrived at Stamford Bridge on deadline day (February 3) from Saint-Etienne in a reported £12m deal.

Amoudou was the only addition to the London giants' squad in the winter transfer window. Chelsea allowed Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, and Renato Veiga to leave in midseason and suddenly look a little light in midfield.

Maresca has utilized Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez as his preferred options in the middle of the park. The Italian tactician also revealed on Friday that Romeo Lavia is not close to a return from his latest injury setback.

That means Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is the only senior backup available for the Blues in midfield at the moment. Maresca has previously said he prefers to use the Englishman in an advanced role.

Speaking to the press, as cited by CFC Daily, the Italian insisted that Amougou won't be drafted into the first team as a solution.

"We didn’t sign him thinking he’s going to play an important part for us. The reason why is the age, we think he’s a good player, and we need the process," Maresca said.

Amougou made 17 appearances in Ligue 1 this season, nine of which were starts.

Will Mathis Amougou leave Chelsea this summer?

Mathis Amougou will reportedly leave Stamford Bridge this summer on loan, within six months of his arrival, according to acclaimed journalist Fabrizio Romano. It appears that the Frenchman will return to Ligue 1 to continue his development with Strasbourg.

In his column for GiveMeSport, Romano added that Andrey Santos, currently on loan at the French side, will return to the Blues to join the first-team squad.

“Chelsea brought in Amougou immediately so he can develop, start adapting to English football, help as backup in midfield but then he will head to sister club Strasbourg on loan from July as the plan has already been shared with the player," Romano wrote.

He continued:

“Andrey Santos will return to Chelsea and be part of the first team, as BlueCo management didn’t want to recall him now to let Andrey perform and shine again at Strasbourg and then do the best pre-season possible from July as a new Chelsea player.”

Andrey Santos moved to Strasbourg on loan last summer and has registered eight goals and three assists from 21 games across competitions.

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Edited by Parag Jain