Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has brutally revealed it is better for Ben Chilwell to leave as the club aims to continue a summer clear-out.
Chilwell was appointed as the Blues vice-captain by former boss Mauricio Pochettino at the start of last season, serving as Reece James' deputy.
The left back captained the side regularly amid James' injury problems last campaign, but his own fitness issues restricted him to 21 appearances in all competitions.
Maresca signalled his intent to stamp his authority on the Chelsea squad this summer, when the new head coach installed Enzo Fernandez as vice-captain in place of Chilwell.
The Italian revealed ahead of the club's Premier League opener against Manchester City that Chilwell is struggling to find a position in his team.
Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has been told it would be 'better to leave' the club this month
Head coach Enzo Maresca was honest about the defender's future ahead of the new season
Chilwell could be another big-name casualty as Chelsea seek to offload players this month
Maresca claimed it would be better for the England international, one of the club's senior players, to move on this summer.
‘Chilly is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill,’ Maresca said.
‘The reason he did not play [in a pre-season friendly] versus Inter was because, with Chilly it is quite clear, even though I love the way he is, the problem is, he is struggling a bit to find the right position.
‘This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask all of them they will say they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible.
'When you train every day and do not get any minutes it is not good for them or for me.
‘I need to make a decision and probably it is better to leave and go and get minutes. The transfer window is open so we’ll see what happens.’
Chilwell has made 106 appearances in total for the Blues since joining the club in a £50m move from Leicester in 2020.
The full back was part of their Champions League winning squad in 2021.
Chilwell won the Champions League in his first season in 2021 but now looks set for the exit
The England international was replaced as Chelsea's vice-captain by Enzo Fernandez
The 27-year-old signed a new contract in April last year, extending his deal until the summer of 2027.
Chilwell had revealed he was ‘very pleased the club want me to be part of the project long-term’ when he agreed his contract extension.
He now looks set to be another big-name casualty amid the overhaul at Stamford Bridge this summer.
Earlier this month, the Blues reportedly banned Trevoh Chalobah from using the club's first-team training facilities as they try to facilitate a move for the defender.
Mail Sport reported last month how Chalobah, who joined Chelsea at the age of eight and has made 80 appearances for the club, feels he is being forced out of Stamford Bridge.
The defender has been joined in the Under 21s by fellow Blues academy graduate Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku, with Chelsea also looking to move on those two strikers this summer.
It is believed that Chelsea think this is the best way to deal with unwanted players who have no future at the club, allowing them to focus on a transfer away, rather than giving them false hope.
Maresca had also revealed that Conor Gallagher, another academy graduate, has been training alone as the club seeks to resolve a deal with Atletico Madrid.
Gallagher had been on the verge of joining the Spanish club this summer, even traveling to Madrid, but complications surrounding Samu Omorodion's proposed transfer to Chelsea halted the deal at the last minute.
Trevoh Chalobah has been training with Chelsea's under-21 squad ahead of a likely transfer
Conor Gallagher has been training on his own with a move to Atletico Madrid in doubt
Maresca admitted it is 'not good' to have so many players sidelined from first team training
As a result, the midfielder found himself on a flight back to England with his future unclear. However, Gallagher is said to be 'trying to find a solution' with the Premier League giants.
Chelsea currently have a bloated squad with 43 first team players, with Maresca revealing 15 have been training away as the club seek to find them moves to new clubs.
Speaking about the size of his squad, Maresca said: 'At the moment if I start to think I have 43 players it is not a good thing, I have 28 training with me'.
The Chelsea manager went on to add: 'Paul and Laurence are in charge of finding solutions for these guys not me'.