Enzo Maresca points out one thing he wants Dario Essugo to improve after Chelsea display
Dario Essugo is one of the Chelsea summer signings that has perhaps gone under the radar.
Chelsea have bolstered their squad with several exciting new additions, including Dario Essugo. The defensive midfielder cost £18m (BBC) to sign from Sporting Lisbon, and he arrived in June after a successful season-long loan spell in Spain with Las Palmas.
On paper, the 20-year-old talent could be perfect cover and competition for Moises Caicedo in the centre of the park. Chelsea even see similarities between Essugo and Caicedo, so the signing feels like a really smart bit of business from the club’s hierarchy.
After three cameo appearances for the Blues at the Club World Cup, Essugo is now settling into life at his new club during pre-season.
Enzo Maresca identifies where Dario Essugo can improve
On Friday night, Chelsea beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at home in a useful pre-season friendly.
For Essugo, the Portuguese youngster played his first minutes at Stamford Bridge. He impressed after entering the action as a half-time substitute, too.
In his post-match interview, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca delivered an interesting verdict on Essugo after his display. He thinks that the summer recruit is fantastic with the work he does out of possession in midfield, but he can still improve with the ball at his feet.
Maresca said on Channel 5 (9:03pm, 8 August): “Dario is another one who’s 20, very young. We bring him here to give more rest in some games to Moi [Caicedo] and to Romeo [Lavia]. He is doing very well. He needs to understand a little bit more, especially the way we want to play on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very good. He has to understand a little bit on the ball.”
Dario Essugo statistics vs Bayer Leverkusen
Even if he might struggle to get into Chelsea’s strongest XI, Essugo looks like he could become a real favourite with supporters because of his athleticism and aggression in the midfield.
The new signing certainly caught the eye for the right reasons against Leverkusen. Even though Maresca wants him to get better on the ball, he was certainly tidy enough in his pre-season display.
| Minutes played | Passing accuracy | Chances created | Tackles won | Ground duels won | Dribbled past | Fouls committed | Match rating |
| 45 | 36/38 (95%) | 2 | 1/1 (100%) | 1/2 (50%) | 0 | 1 | 6.7 |
Essugo admitted he’s learning from Romeo Lavia to be calm in possession of the football, and the Chelsea midfielder is an expert in that field.
It now feels like the Blues have such incredible depth and variety in their central midfield options going into the new season with Essugo, Lavia, Caicedo, Andrey Santos and Enzo Fernandez.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/d0Uuh43
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