NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A very familiar face may return to Chelsea if the west London club manages to agree a deal with Leicester City for head coach Enzo Maresca.
Les Bleus have been looking for a new manager since parting ways with Mauricio Pochettino early last week and appear to have picked out the candidate they liked.
After a rigorous and swift search, Chelsea have ruled out the likes of Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna and Brentford’s Thomas Frank and are now on the verge of striking a deal for Maresca.
The Italian, who in the past was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, ticks all the boxes he is looking for in a young, progressive coach.
He guided Leicester up to 97 numbers and the league name after reviewing the team’s playing taste, bringing a possession-based football logo to Guardiola at the King Power Stadium.
Maresca has reportedly given the green light to a move to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea will now have to work out a payment deal with Leicester.
Following his promotion to the Premier League, a termination clause in his contract is over £10m, however, Chelsea will make sure to pay the full payment and will also have to strike deals for Maresca’s coaching staff, adding a former player.
Maresca almost came to Chelsea through his assistant manager, Willy Caballero, who, of course, spent 4 seasons at the west London club.
The Argentine goalkeeper arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017 from Manchester City and was tasked with covering Thibaut Courtois in Antonio Conte’s second season at the club.
Chelsea’s FA Cup goalkeeper that season, he won the penalty shootout for his team against Norwich City in the third round, but was eliminated in the final against Manchester United, which the Blues won.
He was also among the teams that won the Champions League and Europa League and became a cult figure during his time at the club, especially after an injured Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to upgrade him in the Carabao Cup final. .
The veteran goalkeeper never played anything but Premier League games in his four seasons with Chelsea before spending two seasons at Southampton to end his career.
In the summer of 2023, shortly after hanging up his gloves, he joined the Maresca training team as an assistant coach and not, curiously, as a goalkeeper coach.
Caballero has played a prominent role throughout the season and has been seen chatting to Maresca on the bench, along with first-team manager Danny Walker, who is also expected to move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are hoping to temporarily conclude negotiations for Maresca and his team and a deal may be shown by the end of this week.
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