Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has assured Christopher Nkunku that he still has a future at Stamford Bridge amid reports of a possible January move. departure.
After missing most of last season through injury, Nkunku has failed to break into Maresca's starting line-up this year, operating as back-up to Nicolas Jackson and instead seeing most of his minutes in the Liga of the Conference.
There have been reports claiming that Nkunku is frustrated with his role in the Chelseawith Barcelona said they are exploring a possible transfer.
Maresca, however, has made it clear that he wants to keep Nkunku but has admitted that he will not stand in the way of any player wanting to leave.
“We like Christo and we want him here and there will always be players who are not happy,” said Maresca. “I'm not sure if that will be Christo's case. We want to keep it here because we are happy with it.
“We're not thinking about players who want to leave. We're not thinking that this or that player should leave. We're just thinking about how to win games. If they knock on the door and want to leave, I'm not going to I say: 'No, no, you have to stay here, 100%'.
“If they want to leave, the best thing for everyone is that players who are not happy will leave.”
Maresca has previously admitted that other wingers such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Guiu will have to decide whether they are happy to continue fighting for starting minutes, with Chelsea unwilling to part with the vast majority of players, unless they request a move.
However, the likes of Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka, who are stationed towards the bottom of the pecking order under Maresca, are expected to be available for a switch in January.