IS THIS THE ENZ?

DREAD it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same.

That destiny is what Enzo Maresca and Chelsea are now being forced to face head on after years of ridiculous spending on young, talented players, and failing to address glaring issues in the squad with quality recruitment.

There is no denying the potential quality of the signings made by BlueCo since they took charge at Stamford Bridge − but with two injuries to key players, Chelsea have been left almost bare in terms of quality at both ends of the pitch.

Their 3-1 loss at home to Brighton laid these issues out plainly, for all to see.

In defence, a long-term injury to Levi Colwill left Enzo Maresca with a central defensive partnership of Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah − one a free transfer from Fulham, and the other a player the ownership tried to force out of the club.

Chalobah would be the first to admit he is going through a rough patch in terms of form, but his red card was perhaps the lowest of his mistakes of late, and an injury to Tosin saw the Blues using a duo of 19-year-olds against Brighton, Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato.

It could be argued that Chelsea have been unfortunate… injuries and mistakes have racked up and ravaged their defence, but this is more a matter of lacking quality recruitment.

It was plain to see that the club needed a centre-back in the summer, with Maresca himself even requesting one after Colwill got injured, before back-tracking on what he said to the media.

London rivals Arsenal were criticised by some when they signed Piero Hincapie on top of William Saliba, Gabriel, Ricciardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber − but this is the level of qualitative depth needed if you want to compete for the title − Chelsea have depth in terms of numbers, but not quality.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had question marks surrounding his ability over the summer, but quietly looked good in the Club World Cup and at the start of the season − earning himself at least this season as the Blues’ number one − though his red card at Man Utd brought those question marks back.

In the middle of the pitch, Chelsea perhaps have their best depth, but an injury or red card to the seemingly indestructible Moises Caicedo may well unravel them there too, and the Ecuadorian was lucky not to leave Chelsea with nine men against his former club after an attack on Jan Paul Van Hecke.

The £100million midfielder appeared to lash out at the Brighton star in shock footage that emerged post-match.

Caicedo confronted Yakuba Minteh late on, who was swiftly pulled away by Robert Sanchez, before turning his attention to Van Hecke.

He appeared to strike the Seagulls defender in a furious fit of rage, resulting in him falling to the floor and rolling around in pain.

Sun Sport understands Caicedo’s actions, and the brawl that ensued, could now land Chelsea in hot water with the FA − Sun.