Pitch with fungal infection worries Chelsea ahead of Conference League play-off

Enzo Maresca concerned about bare patches on Swiss surface and also says Chelsea ‘not a mad club’ despite seemingly chaotic transfer policy

Enzo Maresca has expressed his concern at the state of the Stade de Geneve pitch ahead of Chelsea’s Uefa Conference League meeting with Servette on Thursday night.

A fungal infection has affected areas of the playing surface leaving bare patches that have been recently re-seeded.

Those areas will be painted green in an attempt to disguise the problem when Switzerland host Spain at the stadium on September 8, but ahead of Thursday night’s meeting, Maresca has warned his side must adapt quickly to the conditions or risk losing the 2-0 advantage they hold from the first-leg meeting at Stamford Bridge.

“I saw the pitch now,” said the Chelsea head coach. “It doesn’t look a good pitch. We need to adapt otherwise we will struggle.”

Maresca and his players head into the game against a backdrop of continuing uncertainty surrounding the likelihood of yet more incomings and outgoings during the final hours of the transfer window.

Chelsea’s approach during the summer has led to a bloated squad and a number of players have been told they have no future at the club, which has again raised questions about the club’s transfer business. Maresca though, insists the club has been following a clear strategy.

“I can say that it is not a mad club because since I joined the club, the team is working in one direction,” he added.

Sancho, the Manchester United forward, is one of the targets Chelsea are believed to be attempting to add to Maresca’s squad before Friday’s deadline and the head coach appeared to indicate he would welcome the arrival of the England international to Stamford Bridge.

“If we can sign a player that can help us, for sure I would,” he said. “Jadon is not our player. I know him very well. But he is not our player.”

Raheem Sterling heads the list of players who are free to leave as Maresca restated his position that the winger, a target for Manchester United, does not figure in his plans.

“I said already many times, he is a fantastic person,” Maresca said. “The only thing is that every manager has a different idea. He is not the type of winger I like. That says nothing about Raheem. The history and the numbers speak for Raheem.

“For all the players that are training apart, before the transfer window closes, they will not [play].”

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