Chelsea do not want anything disrupting Enzo Maresca’s pre-season plans.
As a result, Chelsea have been denying their players permission to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games.
Enzo Fernandez, for example, is just one name Chelsea have refused to release for the Olympics.
The above means Maresca, who was named as the new Blues boss on Monday, will have most of his squad available for pre-season.
As well as Fernandez, another big-money Chelsea signing has also been told that he will not be representing his country at the Olympics this summer.
Chelsea star not going to the Olympics
There are likely to be quite a few disappointed players at Cobham in July and August.
Fernandez will be one of them after being denied the opportunity to represent Argentina at the Olympics, and Mykhailo Mudryk may also feel very similar.
According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have also blocked the winger from participating with Ukraine in France.
With Mudryk already set to play at this year’s Euros, though, the Blues’ stance makes sense.
Fernandez will also be competing at the Copa America, which is also probably another reason behind Chelsea not releasing him for the Olympics.
Mykhailo Mudryk needs a good pre-season
Mudryk was in and out of the Chelsea team this term. Under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, the 23-year-old made 18 starts and 13 substitute appearances in the Premier League.
The arrival of Maresca now represents a fresh start for Mudryk — another one — so pre-season could be big for him.
If the former Shakhtar Donetsk star impresses, he could win a place in Maresca’s starting XI for Chelsea’s first game of the season. And if Mudryk can kick on from then, maybe he could finally become a regular in the first team.
Having invested so much money in him, that is what the higher-ups at Chelsea will want. But it is up to Mudryk to prove that he deserves to be a starter.