Leicester City have granted Chelsea formal permission to speak to Enzo Maresca about their next manager.
Chelsea made an official visit to Leicester on Monday after identifying the Italian as one of the leading contenders to succeed Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
They are now in a position to communicate with the 44-year-old and are expected to agree on a minimum five-year contract.
Advertising
Leicester will get the refund for the closing move, which is expected to be finalized this week.
Maresca joined Leicester before the start of the 2023-24 season, but brought them back to the Premier League, as league winners, at the first attempt.
Kieran McKenna was thought of as an option after leading Ipswich Town to promotion to Leicester, while Thomas Frank’s paintings in Brentford also considered him.
Chelsea began their search for a new head coach after the club and Pochettino agreed on tactical components last week following a review of the team’s performance.
GO FURTHER
Why Pochettino and Chelsea parted ways: ‘Loneliness’ and resistance to club structure
The procedure to identify Pochettino’s replacement was carried out through sporting administrators Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley and saw them choose former Manchester City assistant Maresca as their preferred option.
He worked with Pep Guardiola and was part of the team on stage for the team’s triple season in 2022-23, while he also raced alongside Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham United in 2018 before a brief stint with Parma in Italy’s second department at first. of the 2021 season. -22 season.
If all goes according to plan, Maresca will be the sixth coach since the club was bought through Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022.
Thomas Tuchel fired the new owner in September of the same year before Graham Potter sacked him in April 2023.
Bruno Saltor and then Frank Lampard took over on an interim basis before Pochettino’s appointment in July last year.
The Argentine left the club last week after leading them to a sixth place in the Premier League and a position in the Europa Conference League.
GO FURTHER
Chelsea fans, here’s Enzo Maresca, the candidate to upgrade Pochettino
(Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)