Wayne Bridge has warned Chelsea they would regret selling Ben Chilwell, who has emerged as a shock target for Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Chilwell has made over 100 appearances for the Blues since completing a £45m move from Leicester City in 2020, helping Chelsea win the Champions League during his first season at the club.
The 27-year-old is rated as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League but has struggled with injury issues throughout his career, making just seven league appearances during the 2021-22 season and only 13 last term due to fitness problems.
It has been reported that Chilwell faces an 'uncertain' future at Chelsea following Enzo Maresca's arrival at Stamford Bridge, with the Italian keen for his full-backs to invert into midfield when his team have the ball.
The Blues have been heavily linked with a move for left-footed Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori in recent weeks which could be seen as a slight on Chilwell, though it appears as though Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal are set to win the race for the Bologna star.
Still, Premier League giants Manchester United have expressed interest in signing Chilwell after Erik ten Hag was forced to cope without injured left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia for much of last season.
Ex-Chelsea defender Bridge believes it would be a mistake to sell Chilwell and says the England international can win over Maresca in pre-season.
Maresca took charge of his first training session on Monday after leaving Championship winners Leicester City earlier in the summer to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.
'I'd look to keep him, but he just has to stay fit,' Bridge, who made 142 appearances for Chelsea, said of Chilwell in an interview with Betfred.
'He's missed a lot of games for Chelsea but if he can stay fit, then I don't know why you'd want to get rid of him, unless there's something going on in the background that we don't know about.
'I just believe that Ben has a lot of ability and is capable of proving himself, as long as he stays fit.
'He's going to have to prove himself if the manager is uncertain about him, but a manager's head can be turned by a player rather than them being stubborn enough to just force someone out.
'If Ben does well, then he's still got a chance of remaining at Chelsea. There's not an abundance of left-backs out there and Ben's a great one.'
Asked if Chelsea will need to enter the transfer market and sign a new left-back should Chilwell leave, Bridge added: 'I think so, yeah.
'Marc [Cucurella] did really well at Brighton, he's done okay for Spain, but it hasn't really worked out for him at Chelsea really.
'It's hard, when you move clubs, to continue playing as well as you have been. You can play in different formations and you're playing with different players.
'Just because you've done really well for one club doesn't mean that you're going to automatically click within another.
'It doesn't always go that way. If the decision was mine, out of the two I'd be keeping Ben Chilwell.'
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