NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Enzo Maresca appears to have won the race to succeed Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea, and Les Bleus have “put the finishing touches” on a deal.
The west London club have been looking for a new head coach since breaking tactics with Pochettino early last week, with a host of names being vetted and interviewed.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, who finished second to Maresca’s Leicester City in the championship, seemed to be the favourite shortly.
But as McKenna was supposed to be waiting for the Manchester United job, the shortlist was whittled down to two names: Maresca and Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea’s hierarchy have selected the Italian for the club and have asked Leicester for official permission to speak to the 44-year-old about a contract.
Maresca has a clause in his contract that is higher following the club’s promotion to the Premier League and Chelsea will have to pay around £10m in compensation.
Despite the higher-value tag, Maresca is seen as the best compatible for the team and inspired Chelsea’s board of directors in negotiations, with West Londoners now “putting the finishing touches” on the deal.
Chelsea’s hierarchy is looking for a young and dynamic coach who plays modern and progressive football and believes that Maresca meets all the mandatory requirements.
The former Parma manager guided Leicester to 97 goals and the league title, flaunting the league’s defensive record and also scoring 89 goals, a total only surpassed by Ipswich.
Maresca has also overhauled the team’s playing taste, advocating for a possession-based game that has averaged 62 per cent over the course of the season (only Southampton).
He has ties to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, having been the manager of the club’s elite progression team in the 2020-21 season.
That earned him the job at Parma, although he only lasted 14 games and was sacked after winning just 4 times, and returned to City in the summer of 2022 as Guardiola’s assistant after Juanma Lillo’s departure.
City enjoyed a historic crusade that year, winning the Champions League and completing the treble.
Chelsea are keen to close a deal for Maresca as soon as possible and, if things go well, his appointment could be confirmed by the end of this week.
Put us in your feed