Enzo Maresca hails Chelsea signing who is already ‘dressing room leader’ | Football

Adarabioyo made the switch across west London to Stamford Bridge in June following the expiration of his contract at Fulham.

Despite fighting off competition from Manchester United and Newcastle to secure his signature, the defender only made his maiden Premier League start for the Blues last weekend against West Ham.

Regardless, Adarabioyo has clearly left a noticeable impression in the opening weeks of the season, with Maresca pinpointing him as one of the instrumental figures within Chelsea’s new-look dressing room.

‘Very impressed. I have known Tosin since City. Very impressed with him, the way he has behaved on and off the pitch,’ Maresca said when asked about the 27-year-old on Friday.

‘He is one of the leaders in the dressing room. We are very delighted and very happy with him.’

Adarabioyo’s presence in the starting XI has coincided with an uptick in defensive rigidity, but Maresca insisted there is plenty more to be done in that department.

‘I think defensively we also need to improve many, many things but we are in the right direction,’ he added.

‘That doesn’t mean every game we are not going to concede, that’s not real, we are going to concede goals but it’s important that we improve the concept between all the team.

‘When we talk about the defensive line, you used to think we are just talking about the defensive players but it’s not.

‘I said after the West Ham game that the best players defending were Cole [Palmer] and Nicolas [Jackson], the way they started the high pressing to give us a chance to manage the situation better. It’s about all the team.’

Chelsea will look to make it four successive wins in all competitions when they host Brighton on Saturday.

Maresca’s side are still without captain Reece James but will have Romeo Lavia available for selection for the first time since the opening Premier League weekend.

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