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Wesley Fofana shock transfer proposal comes to light as Enzo Maresca makes £50m U-turn

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Domestic football is almost back. For Chelsea and for Enzo Maresca, it will be distraction that they might have imagined the international break could be.

This is a club that has existed in a perpetual state of noise for well over two years now. Even for historic Chelsea standards (chaos and trophies, hardly stability), it has been a whirlwind two weeks at Stamford Bridge and Cobham.

Maresca will now be hoping that with a trip to Bournemouth on the horizon, he can put the off-field drama to one side and focus on the pitch. That is unlikely to come, but he can dream nonetheless.

Here, football.london takes a look at some of the latest big stories around the club.

Fofana opens up

Wesley Fofana has admitted that he held talks with boyhood club Marseille over the summer and debated leaving Chelsea. “I had a call that really touched me," he told French outlet Free Foot. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it.

"It was Mehdi Benatia, from Olympique Marseille, the sporting director. It certainly touched me. I think everyone knows why and I had a thought."

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The 23-year-old, who has started the season well under Maresca, was born in the southern French city before going on to play for Saint-Ettiene at youth level. It was there that he impressed and earned a move to Leicester before Chelsea spent £70million to sign him in 2022.

"But at the moment, my objective is to succeed at Chelsea, to try and win games, to establish myself at my club," Fofana continued, playing down the chances of joining up with Roberto De Zerbi anytime soon. "After that, Marseille, we'll see one day.

"I still have a contract until 2029. We'll see after that. I've never hidden anything. It's my city, it's my club, I'm a Marseille supporter. If it turns out to be the case, in a few years I'll be at Marseille and if it turns out to be the case, I could spend my entire career at Chelsea. So we'll see.”

football.london says: One normal international break, that's all a lot of Chelsea supporters might have been after. Maresca as well might not be overjoyed at the timing of this interview.

It's not really what Chelsea need after a week of controversy and debate around the owners. However, there isn't really too much to read into here from Fofana.

He has always been an expressive and bubbly personality. The quotes themselves don't look great on paper but they are said with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face. When asked, in a French interview (which is always likely to bring out a better answer), it would have been quite deadpan to not be honest.

This may be a surprise and it may not be too helpful for Chelsea, but it's not Romelu Lukaku in 2021 and it's not going to derail the season. No, the owners are doing enough of that themselves.

Chilwell trains

Ben Chilwell can be seen training at Cobham in the background of a recent Chelsea video online. The defender had been exiled and moved out of Maresca's first-team squad but the failure to find him a new club may well open up a way back into the side.

The 27-year-old is still in relative limbo with Maresca already admitting that he doesn't have a way to include Chilwell in his system. However, he was spotted alongside senior right-back Malo Gusto running on the outskirts of a session at the Surrey-based training complex.

This could indicate that Chilwell is still in contention to be integrated back into the squad. Chelsea name their final 25-man selection for the Premier League later this week, which will set Chilwell's position once and for all.

football.london says: This would be quite an embarrassing situation to be in. Chelsea set their stall out (and this is very much Chelsea as a club, rather than just Maresca) on some of the players who were unwanted, so returning due to a lack of interest doesn't help anyone.

Chilwell would be justified in standing firm here. Raheem Sterling got a surprise deadline day move to Arsenal, Trevoh Chalobah eventually went to Crystal Palace, so are Chelsea really just going to leave last season's vice-captain out in the cold on his own?

As an attacking full-back - something Maresca has actually played with more than many previously expected so far this season - Chilwell has plenty to offer. He is creative with his runs and is a respected member of what used to be his leadership team.

If Chelsea can get him fit then there's no reason that Chilwell can't contribute in some form. This is a £50million asset, after all, leaving him, in Clearlake Capital and business talk, to depreciate in value further is hardly a viable or sensible tactic.

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