Enzo Maresca has been candid about why Alejandro Garnacho has seen limited minutes since his late-August move to Chelsea. The head coach says the winger arrived from Manchester United short of match fitness and that the club are managing his workload accordingly.

“Garna is doing well,” Maresca told assembled media before a Carabao Cup tie with Wolverhampton Wanderers. “Garna is another player who we are trying to manage him a little bit physically, because he arrived here from United not 100% in his physical condition.

“He is working hard every day, he is getting better and better, and in this moment we are happy with the way he is playing.”

Garnacho’s summer followed a public breakdown of relations at Old Trafford. After a cameo in United’s Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in May, he hinted at a move away. Amorim reportedly told the winger in front of the entire squad that he was best advised to find a new employer, and Garnacho was not permitted to visit United’s training ground while Amorim and the first-team were in the building. The exile continued into the start of the current campaign when the 21-year-old was omitted from the group for the first two weeks of the season.

A deal worth a reported £40 million was completed at the end of August. Maresca has used Garnacho sparingly since, a choice the manager links directly to the summer standoff and the player’s physical condition.

Garnacho himself reflected on that period: “It was difficult moments, training alone, but I have nothing bad to say about my old club Manchester United. Just bad moments in life.”

The winger has logged a little more than 300 minutes for Chelsea. Maresca gave him only 11 Premier League minutes before his first start in October; he was substituted at half-time in his second league start and later scored his first Chelsea goal against Sunderland. Pedro Neto has emerged as Maresca’s first-choice wide option, while Estêvão has matched Garnacho’s number of starts (five) and delivered more goal contributions (three to one). A recent squad breakdown shows minutes and starts across the wide forwards and underlines the rotation shaping Chelsea’s options.

The 2025 FIFPRO World XI nominees were announced on Monday and the shortlist left a number of established performers off the list. Several omissions have prompted debate over which players deserved recognition.

Harry Kane was one of the most surprising names absent. He led the Bundesliga in scoring last season, finished with 41 goals in all competitions and won his first major trophy. Kane also finished fifth in the European Golden Boot race behind Kylian Mbappé, Viktor Gyökeres, Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski. The shortlist included two of those names and excluded two, making his omission notable given his scoring numbers.

The exclusion of Gabriel also raised eyebrows. “It’s honestly preference comparing Gabriel and William Saliba, but for many who watched Arsenal closely the Brazilian was arguably the better of the two last season.” The piece highlights Gabriel’s role as a defensive leader who also poses a significant threat from set pieces and notes he is being spoken of as a potential player of the season for the current campaign.

Wojciech Szczęsny was another overlooked name. He returned from retirement midseason to join Barcelona in crisis and made his debut on Jan. 4. By the end of the campaign he had added three more trophies as Barcelona completed a first domestic treble. He subsequently earned a new contract extending his stay through 2027.

Liverpool’s midfield pairing also suffered from the voting. The article points to Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch being left out and argues both had strong claims. Mac Allister missed only three Premier League games last season, contributed 10 goal involvements and was an important part of the title-winning engine room.

Finally, Moisés Caicedo was highlighted as a major snub. Caicedo played every Premier League match last season as Chelsea secured a top-four finish under Enzo Maresca, scored in the UEFA Conference League final and played a major role in Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup victory over the summer.

These five absences underline the difficult choices in assembling a World XI and why the 2025 shortlist has drawn criticism.

Enzo Maresca has acknowledged that João Pedro, Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo are all carrying injuries that have limited their training time and availability.

“I think João is not training every day because he’s managing a little bit himself from the injury problem,” the Italian boss outlined. “Moi [Caicedo] is exactly the same, Enzo [Fernández] is exactly the same.

“We have four or five players that unfortunately, because of some problems, they cannot work every day and they try to make the effort to play the game.”

Caicedo and Fernández arrived at the Nottingham Forest game as fitness doubts. Fernández did not feature, while Caicedo was only fit enough to come off the bench and, the club report says, helped swing the contest at the City Ground. He was unable to produce the same decisive impact in the subsequent match with Sunderland. Wilson Isidor’s diligent man-marking brief stifled Chelsea’s most important midfielder throughout a frustrating afternoon.

João Pedro has been asked to shoulder a regular starting burden despite his own fitness issues because of limited attacking options. Summer exits for Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, combined with a serious injury to Liam Delap, briefly left Pedro as the only senior centre forward. Marc Guiu was recalled from his loan with Sunderland before the summer window closed, but as the match against his fleeting former employers showed, he remains a raw 19-year-old.

“So João in some games has been better, [against Sunderland] he struggled a little bit,” Maresca conceded. “But I think overall all the players struggled, so it’s not just about João.”

Delap, sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained when sprinting too vigorously in the opening exchanges of an August clash with Fulham, watched the Sunderland game from the stands. Maresca has suggested the 22-year-old could get some minutes in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which would help ease Pedro’s workload.

Chelsea then face a London derby away to Tottenham Hotspur, a team noted in the report for a potent set-piece threat and a surprisingly mixed home record this season, with Burnley the only Premier League side to have lost in N17 so far.