CHELSEA are on the verge of making Enzo Maresca their new boss.
Todd Boehly and the Chelsea ownership group identified the 44-year-old Leicester City head coach as the man they want to replace Mauricio Pochettino.
And they have been granted permission by Leicester City to speak to the Italian who led the Foxes to Championship glory and promotion back to the Prem in his debut season at the King Power.
Chelsea’s co-Sporting Directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart will jet into Marbella for face-to-face talks with Maresca in the next 24 hours.
That suggests Chelsea have triggered the £9million release clause in Maresca’s three-year-contract with the Foxes.
Chelsea are confident a three-year-deal will be agreed swiftly with Maresca understandably keen to move to Stamford Bridge.
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Maresca’s appointment will complete a meteoric rise for the 44-year-old Italian who has emerged ahead of Roberto De Zerbi, Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and Thomas Tuchel to become Chelsea’s top target.
Maresca’s first managerial role was a short-lived one as he only lasted 14 games at fallen Italian giants Parma in the summer of 2021 before he was dismissed by the Serie B club.
However he returned to City, where he had enjoyed success as manager of their elite development squad, to become Pep Guardiola’s first team assistant coach in the summer of 2022.
A year later, after celebrating a historic treble, including Champions League success with City, Maresca was on the move again to newly-relegated Leicester City.
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There he lived up to his reputation as one of Pep Guardiola’s disciples – in common with Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany – by playing a patient, possession-based style of football similar to City’s blueprint.
That made him unpopular at times with fickle Foxes fans, who preferred a much more direct approach.
However, despite a few bumps along the road, Maresca led Leicester back to the Premier League at the first attempt and lifted the Championship trophy too.
It is Marseca’s sometimes stubborn, painstaking attention to detail and his tactical nous which has attracted him to Blues chiefs.
Leicester City’s former Spurs midfielder Harry Winks described Maresca as the best head coach he’d ever worked with – even though he had previously played for Pochettino, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho in his Spurs days.
Meet Pep Guardiola disciple Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca is considered among the most exciting young coaches on the planet.
Born in Italy in 1980, he managed to guide Leicester to the Championship title in his first season as Foxes boss.
His management career started at Italian minnows Ascoli before he was snapped up by Man City in 2020 to manage their Elite Development Squad.
He guided the youth team to the Premier League 2 title in his one season working for the Citizens – with Cole Palmer in the side.
His first senior job was with Parma but he was sacked after just a few months after failing to impress.
Despite the team playing in Serie B and Maresca having an impressive squad he was unable to get them on course for promotion.
He returned to Man City and worked as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants for the 2022/23 season as they won the Treble.
He took over relegated Leicester last summer and made an immediate impact, with the Foxes winning the Championship title.
Maresca showed his dedication to the job by living at the training ground for the first two months after his appointment.
He’s considered something of a Pep disciple and has said: “For a coach, it’s important to have the mentality of a chess player.”
During his playing career he played under Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi – and alongside ex-Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi.
And Chelsea were staggered by Maresca’s knowledge of their own youthful squad as well as his single-minded determination over the brand of football he intends to bring to Stamford Bridge.
While many managers may see the Chelsea job as something of a poisoned chalice, Maresca can’t wait to work with their vast squad of expensive, quality kids and convince them of his methods.
SunSport understands the Italian would have faced financial hardship and an expected points deduction at Leicester City and feels the Foxes didn’t reveal the true extent of their financial situation to him.
However, with no practical experience of managing in the Premier League, Maresca may have to win Chelsea fans over quickly – as he clearly has already done with their Board.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
