Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez have recently intensify the pressure on BlueCo amid Chelsea's struggles, which the players clearly feel is down to the decision of the management to relieve Enzo Maresca of his duties.

The Italian had a decent spell at Chelsea, even though he at some point could not agree with the vision of the management, with their fallout associated with their refusal to sign a center back following the injury to Levi Colwill back in the summer.

Chelsea have struggled since his departure, especially in high-stakes matches where they were known to always step up under the Italian, and the players, like fans, are not pleased with their current status.

What are the players saying?

Chelsea's form has plummeted after the end of their new manager bounce honeymoon under Liam Rosenior, and their down-to-earth performance has been humbling, with a couple of tournament exits and a change of ambition in the league.

The Stamford Bridge landlords were once in the company of the title chasers, and even though their chances were already fleeting after a couple of poor results before Enzo Maresca was sacked, it has gone worse with Rosenior.

Even Arsenal and Manchester City, who are locked in a two-horse title race have endured tough spells, and may be with Maresca in charge, Chelsea could have capitalized and played themselves back in the title race.

However, that has not been the case under Liam Rosenior, who has won ten in 19 games so far, but seven of those came in his first nine games, while they've suffered a Carabao Cup exit by losing both legs of the semi-finals with Arsenal.

The 8-2 aggregate loss to PSG in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 was a tough take for the players, whose recent comments have shown they not only lack fate in Rosenior but also missed Enzo Maresca.

What Enzo Fernandez said?

Enzo Fernandez, one of the leaders in the dressing room recently criticized the decision of the management to sack Enzo Maresca in a recent interview.

“I don’t understand it either (sacking Maresca), sometimes there are things that we as players don’t understand, how and in what way they try to manage things. Obviously, it was a departure that hurt us a lot because we had an identity. He gave us an order, even though, as is the way of football, sometimes it’s good and bad.

But he always had a very clear identity when it came to training and playing, and obviously his departure hurt us a lot, especially in the middle of the season, it cuts everything short,” said the Argentine.

After the Champions League exit, Enzo Fernández has been involved in endless speculations linking him with a move away from Chelsea, with the player recently professing his love for Madrid.

What does Marc Cucurella say?

Marc Cucurella did not shy away with his response when asked about the impact of the sacking of Enzo Maresca while on international duty with Spain.

"With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months", said the left-back. "If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart.

The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season.

The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is." Cucurella added.

The former Brighton man, who signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2023 in a £52 million deal also questions the club's recruitment policy, and the negative effect of focusing their recruitment on youth, noting that it is difficult to compete at the highest level.

"Results like that (8-2 loss to PSG) are always hard to take. You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level.

I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction — signing young players and looking to the future. But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.

We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals."

Are outspoken players good for Chelsea?

By speaking out, Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez have highlighted the problems at Chelsea, but all they've said are open secrets that are known to informed people, even those without ties to the club.

But will it solve the problems? Definitely not. It only showed the disjointed inner circles at the club, while also underlining the lack of faith in the current manager Liam Rosenior.

What is the way forward for Chelsea?

After a run of four consecutive defeats, it is imperative that Chelsea turn a new leaf after the international break, and with an Emirates FA Cup date with lower division Port Vale coming up, the chances of returning to winning ways are great.

However, the bigger tasks will be doing enough to secure Champions League qualification in the Premier League run-in, while keeping hold of players in their prime will prove difficult, especially with speculations already circling the future of many.

Chelsea players recently been linked with exits

As mentioned above, Enzo Fernandez has been talking about his love for Madrid city, a discussion that started after the embarrassing loss to PSG. Surely there is no smoke without fire.

Marc Cucurella also talked about how difficult it'll be to turn down Barcelona should the Spanish giants come knocking, while the rumours linking Cole Palmer out of the club have started to resurface again.

Even though the players have been tied down with long-term contracts, Chelsea could be forced to sanction their departures if things continue to fall apart, and the current crisis is beyond the management's reach at least for the time being.

They can only hope Liam Rosenior starts to get things right and helps secure a Champions League spot, because without it, a host of top stars will be forced to rethink their future, if Chelsea is the right environment for their ambitions.