‘It’s a shame’ – Enzo Maresca blames Premier League rules for Chelsea’s transfer policy as Conor Gallagher nears exit

Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea do not intend to sell players from the academy for profit, but Premier League rules mean the Blues have to.

The Chelsea boss is preparing to start his first season at Stamford Bridge, with them hosting reigning league champions Manchester City next Sunday.

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But the noise around the upcoming season has been away from the actual football, focusing on the sale of one of their homegrown talents instead.

Conor Gallagher has agreed a five-year deal with Atletico Madrid, who have negotiated a £33million deal – and some Chelsea fans have been left outraged by the growing trend of owner Todd Boehly and co selling academy graduates.

There are suspicions from supporters that the Blues will continue to sell their homegrown players as their fees count as a pure profit under Profit and Sustainability Rules – but Maresca insists that’s not the club’s intention.

When asked if he was confident Chelsea are still trying to promote players from the academy and not just sell them for profit, the former Leicester boss said: “Absolutely.

“I also think the intention of the club is not to sell players from the academy but it is the rules at the end that you have to do it. It’s not only us, it’s all the Premier League clubs.

“It’s a shame because in Italy, we have Totti with Roma, 20 years with the same club.

“One-club-man, we love that in football, the fans want to see that. But with the rules now it is different than the past.”

Quizzed on the fact Chelsea squad costs £1billion, Maresca said his club were not the only ones doing so.

“Yeah, but it is not only Chelsea spending money on players,” he said. “It’s all the big clubs to try and buy players.

“Some of the clubs spend more, some spend less. My personal opinion is it’s a shame because we like to see a one-club-man but the rules are different.”

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Pressed on whether he believes the Premier League need to change their rules, he said: “If they want to protect academy players, then probably yes.”

Under Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium, Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are some of the former Chelsea youth players that have been sold.

This summer, Ian Maatsen was sold to Aston Villa for £37.5million, Lewis Hall has gone to Newcastle for £28million.

Now, Gallagher looks set to go and the Blues are reportedly already scouting out a replacement.