London, Aug 8 (IANS) Enzo Maresca says Jorrel Hato is ‘more mature than his age’ but stresses the defender will need time to acclimatise to life at Chelsea.
The 19-year-old completed his switch to Stamford Bridge on Sunday and has spent the past week training with his new team-mates at Cobham.
Hato has arrived with more than 100 senior appearances under his belt following three seasons in the Ajax first team.
He also captained the Dutch club on several occasions and has been capped six times by the Netherlands.
It’s why Maresca believes Hato, who can play at centre-back and full-back, carries himself like a player with more experience.
“He is much more mature than his age; he has captained Ajax and this kind of thing.
“But with him, the messaging is the same. He is in a different country, a different league, a different tempo, and a different intensity. He needs to adapt, but for sure, there are no doubts he is going to help us, “said Maresca to Chelsea’s media team.
Hato is one of several new faces at Cobham this week, with Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro also training with the club for the first time.
Maresca reiterated that those new to English football will need time to adapt to their new surroundings, but the Italian is pleased the Club World Cup enabled several of the other summer additions to settle into the squad.
“For sure, they need time, first of all, probably Jamie is the only one who knows a little bit the country and the Premier League, even if he’s very young,” Maresca added.
“Players like Hato and Estevao need to adapt. Fortunately for us, Dario (Essugo), Andrey (Santos), Liam (Delap) and Joao Pedro were already with us in the USA, so it’s much easier for them.”
–IANS
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