Enzo Maresca Chelsea transfer 'disaster' will end this week no matter what

Enzo Maresca does not enjoy the transfer window (Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Enzo Maresca does not care much for the transfer window . Being the Chelsea manager, it is often hard to escape the noise.

Sometimes it can appear as if trying to win the summer is of more importance than the actual results on the pitch that follow. That is certainly how social media tends to digest transfers.

The unknown is deemed better than the known. Players at other clubs are better than the ones currently in the squad. Buying someone is better than them actually being good. The excitement over spending millions surpasses what they do on the ball.

Football has gotten weird in that sense. But for Maresca, it is tough to work with. He is coaching one of the most active clubs in the market and there is no hiding place.

He is the one to front up and face the media when players have been exiled or left out. It is no great surprise that in January, he described the window as being "a disaster."

This was not because Chelsea were failing to do the moves he wanted, just that the chaos was too much. "It is normal that you judge the results because the business is a business where you judge the results," he said.

"But I'm happy with the performances, I'm happy because we create and we play. On the pitch, I would like to win more games but I'm OK. Off the pitch it is a disaster because of so many noises that don't help us. I don't think they help any club.

"It's not just for us, it's for every club and every manager. In this moment, whenever there is any noise about any player, it is not easy because even if you think the player can be focused on us, in the end he is a human being. If there is any noise about another club then he is probably not focused 100%. But we need to adapt because it is like this."

The scrutiny on Chelsea compared to Leicester City, Parma, or the Manchester City development squad, is of a different level. When so much has gone on before Maresca even arrived, writing the narrative that he has to fit around, it is draining.

Luckily, there is now just one week to go. The summer window shuts on Monday, September 1. At 7pm, Maresca would be justified in letting out a deep sigh.

There is still a lot of work to do on the field before January comes around, but the period of Premier League matches overlapping with the open transfer window is brutal. Every match there are players to discuss and situations to explain.

Unlike other clubs, Chelsea have been frank with those who are in or out of the plans. Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku aren't involved because Chelsea want to sell them. There is no point trying to avoid that.

If they don't leave, what happens? That isn't a question for now. There's still a lot of time for things to change multiple times. The good news for Maresca is that he only has one game and two main press conferences to get through before it is over.

He will face journalists on Friday before the Saturday afternoon visit of Fulham to Stamford Bridge. Undoubtedly, most of the pre-game chatter will be around who is coming and going before the deadline two days later.

He will then speak after the match. At that point, transfer agendas can be fitted to the action itself. More quizzing will follow. Maresca, at this stage, may not have much left to give.

Prior to facing West Ham he was asked about how close Jackson was to leaving . "No idea, to be honest," he said with the shortest of short shrift.

"No idea. You know already from last season that I prefer to be focused on training sessions, prepare the game and these kind of things. I don't know."

For a manager who has spent most of the past two weeks saying publicly that he wanted a new centre-back despite all of the internal messaging being that nobody would be signed, this did feel a bit of a stretch. Maresca has often played it safe when it comes to transfers, distancing himself as above, but did not shy away from being clear on his demand for a defender.

He was blunt on the topic and showed his frustration at it. Whether it was the constant questioning, the lack of movement from above to give into his pleas, or just that it has been three months of endless transfer related queries, who knows.

What is clear is that Maresca will be all the happier when the window is closed. It won't stop the drama from unfolding but it should offer him some sort of shield to the constant queries around players' futures.