Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Conor Gallagher will not be part of the squad to face Manchester City on Sunday, August 18 as the midfielder’s future at the club hangs in the balance. Gallagher was set for a move to Atletico Madrid in the ongoing summer window, only for the deal to hit a roadblock. This happened after the reported deal for Samu Omorodion to Chelsea from Atletico collapsed.

Gallagher has since returned to London, where he has been training away from the first team. According to reports, Chelsea are now looking to buy Joao Felix from Atleti, which could end up helping Gallagher move in the other direction. Speaking to the reporters on Friday, August 16, Maresca said that midfielder is still trying to find a solution to his future and the Chelsea boss is hoping that the situation ends with all parties involved being happy.

“Conor is back and training a bit apart, he is doing some medical tests and training, he won’t be involved in this game.”

“You know better than me that he is trying to find a solution with the club and we will see what happens.”

“Hopefully Conor’s situation finishes with the player, the club and all the people happy,” said Maresca, as quoted by BBC.

Maresca not thinking about Chelsea’s bloated squad

The summer transfer dealings have seen Chelsea have uptoi 43 first-team players in their squad. Maresca said that he isn’t thinking a ;lot about the size of the squad at the moment.

“We’ve been in America with 28 or 29 players so it has been quite good managing the squad, the other players are training apart.”

“I just finished today’s session and I am thinking about the next session. If I start to think about 43 players, managing their time, I think it is not worth it,” said Maresca.

Despite the size of the squad, Maresca is hoping that Chelsea can add a few more players to their ranks before the window shuts close. The Blues will be welcoming the reigning Premier League champions, City, to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 18.