Chelsea are setting up a January auction for the sale of Ben Chilwell, according to reports, despite Enzo Maresca bringing him back into the fold recently - and the left-back's favoured next step has been revealed.

Chilwell was frozen out by Chelsea in the summer, when Maresca openly admitted they were looking to sell him. However, no move materialised and he has since got back in action for the first team.

His return to prominence at Stamford Bridge may not last too much longer, though. According to the Mirror, Chelsea are inviting offers for Chilwell in January.

Their asking price has not yet been confirmed, but Chilwell's contract until 2027 seems to be no accurate reflection of how far Chelsea want to continue with him anymore.

There were efforts to offload him to a club in the Turkish Super Lig earlier this month, while that country's transfer window was still open, but no clubs there took the plunge.

And talks with Brentford shortly before the Premier League transfer deadline on August 30 amounted to nothing.

As for his next step, the report claims that Chilwell would prefer to stay in the Premier League, where the 27-year-old has spent all his career so far, save for a loan spell in the Championship with Huddersfield Town from Leicester City back in the 2015-16 season.

He would have been hoping to prove himself at Chelsea again, but is deemed to be an unsuitable fit for Maresca's style of play.

Have Maresca comments been a smokescreen? Since the summer transfer window ended, Chilwell has been linked with the likes of Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town ahead of the January transfer window.

The latest update is interesting in light of comments that Maresca - who led Chelsea to a 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday - has made recently about Chilwell.

Last week, he said: "Ben is one of the guys who was ready to leave, but he's here and he's training with us and training well.

"He's our player. The situation with him was very clear, but now the situation has changed a little bit. Game after game we are going to consider in case we are going to use him."

And earlier this week, speaking ahead of the Brighton game (which came a few days after he first used Chilwell this season, in a Carabao Cup win over Barrow, Maresca added: "At the moment we need him, why not?

"I said it many times and I will say again that, as long as Chilly is with us, he is a Chelsea player. And if we need him, we give him a chance and minutes."

When asked if he regretted his treatment of Chilwell in recent months, Maresca replied: "We all make mistakes. Probably yes; probably no.

"I am here to take decisions. Sometimes they are good decisions and sometimes they are not good. The only thing I can say is that there is not any bad intention from me. It is just to see things and try to think about the best things for the club."

Chelsea in battle for new defender / striker search expands While Chilwell could leave Chelsea in 2025, plans are already afoot for the Blues to reinvest in their backline.

TEAMtalk has recently been able to confirm their interest in RB Leipzig's left-footed centre-back Castello Lukeba. However, the latest reports warn that they will face plenty of competition for the Frenchman.

Lukeba is a more central defender than Chilwell, so would not be an out-and-out replacement, but an extra piece of defensive cover in a role where Maresca can already call upon Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, several sources have indicated that they are still keen on rising Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.

Duran was linked with Chelsea over the summer, but his encouraging start to the season as an impact player for Villa means he could still be on their radar.

Chilwell's Chelsea rise and fall - a timeline Chelsea paid PS45m to sign Chilwell from Leicester in 2020, by which time he already had double figures of international caps for England. Chilwell enjoyed the busiest season of his career to date in his debut campaign with Chelsea, making 42 appearances and earning a place in England's Euro 2020 squad by the end of it. He started and completed the 2021 Champions League final, which Chelsea won against Manchester City. A cruciate ligament injury in November 2021 ruled him out for the remainder of his sophomore season with Chelsea, after which the Blues invested in Marc Cucurella. After getting back on track with 30 appearances in the 2022-23 season, Chilwell became Chelsea's vice-captain in August 2023. Chilwell led Chelsea out as captain for the 2023-24 Carabao Cup final, which they lost to Liverpool. There was no place for Chilwell in England's squad for Euro 2024 after an injury-impacted season. Maresca admitted throughout the summer 2024 transfer window that Chilwell was not in his plans.