Chelsea boss breaks silence on Alejandro Garnacho transfer and Cole Palmer injury update

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has broken his silence on Alejandro Garnacho. The winger is on the cusp of joining the Blues from Manchester United in a deal worth £40million after an agreement was reached between the clubs earlier this week.

Garnacho was one of Ruben Amorim's bomb squad at United after publicly failing to see eye to eye with his manager, and Chelsea have now pounced to strike a deal for a reasonable fee to secure his services.

Despite Garnacho not officially being a Blues player yet, Maresca did confirm that the forward was in the vicinity when speaking ahead of Chelsea's clash with Fulham on Saturday afternoon. The former Leicester City boss said: "I know that he is around here. I don't know exactly where he is. He is a winger, and I see him as a winger."

Maresca was also asked about whether he was expecting any further arrivals, aside from Garnacho, before Monday's deadline, to which he replied: "You can expect anything with the transfer window open - anything can happen in and out. I joined the club one year ago saying I was in love with the squad and it has got better. The feeling is the same."

Chelsea have already splashed the cash on attacking reinforcements this summer, with Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap joining the club. The Blues were also keen to sign RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons, but their move for the Dutchman has been hijacked by Tottenham over the past 24 hours.

Maresca will be hoping that his new look frontline will be at their best at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, especially with Cole Palmer ruled out. The winger sustained an injury just minutes behind the Blues' clash with West Ham last week, and the England international is still nursing the problem.

Maresca said: "Cole is out, Benoit (Badiashile) is out, Romeo (Lavia) is out. The rest are okay. Cole, we need to see day by day. Romeo and Benoit, I don't think they will be back after the international break but they will be closer.

"I'm always worried but with Romeo and Benoit, because it is a long time out, it is normal they need time. It's the same what we're doing with Wes [Fofana]."

The Chelsea boss was then asked about Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the upcoming international break. Maresca concluded: "I spoke with Thomas a few times. It's Thomas' decision. He's not available tomorrow so it is quite normal that he has shown he has some problems."