Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said no player is irreplaceable after axing club-record signing Enzo Fernandez from his Premier League starting line-up.
The Argentine World Cup winner has been demoted to Maresca's second string for cup competitions and has not started either of the past two top-flight games.
Fernandez joined Chelsea for £107 million ($138 million) from Benfica in January 2023 but Maresca currently prefers the less experienced Romeo Lavia as midfield partner for Moises Caicedo.
"I still trust him (Fernandez)," Maresca said on Friday. "There's no reason in the world I can lose confidence in him.
"The reason he isn't playing in the Premier League is that in this moment I take different decisions, but my confidence is 100 percent with Enzo."
Fernandez has captained Chelsea this season in the absence of Reece James but the emergence of Lavia has resulted in a fall down the pecking order, with the manager citing a lack of physicality.
William Osula of Newcastle United battles for possession with Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea during the Carabao Cup Round of 16 match between Newcastle United and Chelsea at St. James's Park in Newcastle. [AFP]
"I like to say there are players that are fantastic, but for me we don't have indispensable players," said Maresca.
"If Cole (Palmer) is not playing for any reason, we play Joao (Felix). If Nico (Nicolas Jackson) is not playing, we play Christo (Christopher Nkunku). There is not one that we cannot change.
"The reason we change players is because we think that all of them are good. Some of them are better than the rest, but it doesn't mean they are always the ones that are going to play."
Reports in Spain have suggested Real Madrid could move for Fernandez in a cash-plus-player deal.
But Maresca, whose side face Manchester United on Sunday, said Lavia and Caicedo had not locked down the midfield.
"It's a matter of balance," he added. "Romeo and Moises give us physicality, strength in the middle.
"When we play with Enzo it has to be him and one between Moises and Romeo, and when Enzo moves we struggle a bit in the middle in terms of physicality. It's something Moises and Romeo give us."