One player who has not been given a chance to succeed at Chelsea since Enzo Maresca became manager could now be about to move elsewhere on a permanent deal.
The Italian is certainly a popular figure at Stamford Bridge right now after ending his mammoth first season at the club with two trophies.
Maresca added the Club World Cup to the club’s cabinet following a dominant win over PSG in the final, with supporters getting a glimpse at what is to come in the manager’s second campaign.
Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo all made an impact as new players in the squad, with Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian also joining up with the squad when they return from their limited break.
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Andrey Santos was the only player who spent last season on loan that was selected for the trip to the United States, meaning that a number of former first team stars were left at home.
One of those was Alfie Gilchrist, who spent the first half of the previous season making a real impact for Sheffield United in the Championship.
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However, their vast amount of loanees saw Gilchrist’s gametime limited, with only a certain amount of temporary players allowed in the matchday squad.
While his time at Bramall Lane may have come to an end, there are talks of a return to England’s second division, however this time on a permanent deal.
According to journalist Lyall Thomas, Middlesbrough may have enquiries into signing the defender this summer.
He said: “Middlesbrough have been making inquiries about signing Alfie Gilchrist from Chelsea.”
Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty ImagesGilchrist was one of Pochettino’s favourites at Chelsea
After not making a single appearance so far for Maresca, it looked pretty clear that he was not in the long-term plans of the club.
This was very much not the case when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge though, with him being one of the only youth products the Argentine regularly looked towards on a regular basis.
The defender managed the Stamford Bridge goal that he would have been dreaming of whilst with the academy when he scored in a 6-0 home win against Everton.
Things have not worked out though, and it feels best for all parties if he was to move on and find regular first team minutes elsewhere.