What Enzo Maresca did to Andrey Santos speaks volumes as Chelsea transfer worry explained

Ultimately it wasn’t until the 79th minute that Chelsea wrapped up three points in their Club World Cup group stage opener but it largely felt like a friendly rather than a competitive outing.

Maybe that is because it comes less than a month after the end of the Premier League season and not even a week on from international matches being played. The weird atmosphere of being under a roof and without more than two-thirds of the capacity crowd didn’t help.

Los Angeles FC (LAFC) are 16 games into their MLS campaign and did offer some opponent for Chelsea in Atlanta, but it never felt like being enough. This part-bake, entirely shattered, and somewhat motivated XI, picked at full strength by Enzo Maresca, was always likely to be too much.

No matter how much Marc Cucurella’s body continues to scream at him, Chelsea have quality and depth that Group D simply cannot match. Others later in the tournament will be able to, and then it will be a genuine test, but until then, this is about as much holiday as the bulk of the Chelsea players might get this summer.

Maresca is trying to balance the need to win with the worry of Moises Caicedo’s hamstrings breaking down or Cole Palmer’s ankle eventually screaming out. After a little longer than a fortnight since the Conference League final and just a handful of training sessions at Cobham and USA to work with, it is no shock that Chelsea took their time to ease into this.

Familiarity came with what was close to a full-strength XI. That got Chelsea over the line, as did their massively superior players. Given the circumstances, it was a fine enough performance that won’t live long in the memory and doesn’t have to.

Nicolas Jackson was good as he fights to keep Liam Delap out of the side. The only brand new signing from the summer window (because sorry Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr, you do not count having been completed much earlier in the year) picked up where he left off at Ipswich Town.

He bundled into defenders, ran hard, and linked up extremely well with Palmer. Twice he was threaded down the right channel with enough weight and wait to the pass. The first time this happened, Delap cut inside and squared to Enzo Fernandez, who could have scored and will be the main person to argue with the suggestion that this was Chelsea’s best team after he came from the bench.

There isn’t too much to read into that. Nothing Maresca does at this stage means too much. This is about getting up and running and finding some momentum, because the short run-up to the Club World Cup might have to propel Chelsea into the Premier League with very little else to go off.

It is essentially an awkward pre-season tournament, so minutes will surely be shared as such. Even Christopher Nkunku got on the field and he has no future at Chelsea.

They were able to make a sixth substitute after LAFC used a concussion one of their own. Delap was always going to be one of them. Replacing Reece James and Romeo Lavia after 45 minutes continue to be a sensible tactic as workloads are managed carefully in the most unique of landscapes.

Anyway, having competition is healthy. Chelsea have needed it up front for Nicolas Jackson for a while and it is telling that both strikers got nice assists in their own way. Jackson’s was typically Jackson at his best, rolling a defender and timing a nice pass to a speedy winger.

Delap’s finesse to dig out a cross accurately to Fernandez was more surprising. He is a bulldog player but does have the touch and care to create these moments.

You would have been excused for expecting him to be on the end of a cross rather than providing one, though. These two fighting for one spot will benefit Chelsea immeasurably.

The same will be true for Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto on the right. The pair couldn’t get to form at the same time last season and Madueke is now playing catch-up, especially after finding himself shunted to the left whilst Neto gets an extended go at his preferred right-wing position.

As Chelsea continue to search for a new left-winger, Madueke and Neto will find themselves increasingly in each other’s way, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing either.

The same goes for the midfield. Chelsea have five players to pick from now with Maresca usually only able to fit in two, unless James is left out and Caicedo stuck at right-back to invert. This depth will be important, especially with the return of Champions League football.

James and Cucurella often end up centrally, as well, with Malo Gusto also popping up as a No.10 more than a flying full-back nowadays. They have a battle-hardened group, too.

This is not a soft-touch set of players. Caicedo is a warrior with muscles made out of titanium. Fernandez carries the Argentinian fire around with him and Lavia snaps into tackles. You can never be too safe with keeping him fit, either.

Then there are the new guys. Essugo came off the bench with six minutes left and looked composed with his short, mainly backwards passing. It was the non-involvement of Andrey Santos which caught the eye more.

Santos has been one of the best-performing midfielders across Europe for the past 18 months. A proper appearance for Chelsea (ie, one outside of pre-season) has been a long time in the making. Whether or not the group stage of the Club World Cup really qualifies as that is a fair question but also outside of the point.

Chelsea are already fending off interest in Santos, such is his skill level. They got him for nothing at just £10million and could easily make a giant profit. But that is not the plan.

Santos was left at RC Strasbourg for the whole of last season when he could have made an impact at Stamford Bridge both from the start and then especially in January when Maresca’s stocks were depleted and knackered. Chelsea prioritised his personal development in France (as well as the success of their sister club) over a recall.

Now, Santos will be properly integrated. But he did not get a game here. For some, that rings alarm bells. Chelsea have to satisfy Santos, who rightfully commands a serious role in this squad.

With Nkunku and Essugo preferred by Maresca on this occasion, is there something to worry about? Well, it’s understandable why those who are the most protective over Santos might reach that conclusion, but it’s too early to tell.

Santos has had the chance to play under Maresca whereas Essugo, in particular, has not. Santos was on pre-season with Chelsea last year before going back out on loan.

Maresca may well want to look at another player first in this watered-down scenario. He could also be exposing Essugo gently in a game that Santos is beyond good enough to play in. Would anything really be learned here if he had come on?

Chelsea went strong and will now surely rotate later on in the group, especially against ES Tunis in the final game. There will be chances for Santos and he is not entirely fresh to the group or a regular from last season.

There is a sense of known certainty to him where Delap and Essugo are still new faces. This plays against him, in one sense, with much still to proved in a Chelsea shirt, but it does not mean that he is being ignored.

That position in limbo explains why others were chosen ahead of him. At the end of this low-key affair he could have played the role Nkunku came into but it would not be something he is counted on to do moving forward, so where is the benefit?

It would have been a nice moment for him and perhaps some assurance that Maresca is being faithful, but Santos not playing does not indicate anything more right now. Just like Josh Acheampong and Trevoh Chalobah being unused substitutes doesn’t need to be amplified, Santos is just in a set of players who did not get their chance in the first game but have other opportunities.

He will need to take it when it comes, because there is world-class ability all around him, but Santos is capable of not only holding his own, but thriving within that. He was given Carney Chukwuemeka’s shirt number and all of the messaging around Santos remains that he is extremely highly thought of.

90 minutes in the States does not reduce that all to lies or actions of nothingness. The season is long and pre-season is yet to really begin. There are battles across the pitch at Chelsea and Santos is going to be in the middle of one of the most vital ones. For now, that is no reason to panic.