CHELSEA could shape up very differently under incoming manager Enzo Maresca.
The Italian, 44, who won the Championship with Leicester this season, is closing in on becoming Mauricio Pochettino’s successor.
And his arrival could spell a new era at Stamford Bridge through a host more fresh faces.
Chelsea have already spent more than £1billion in the two years since Todd Boehly took over the club from Roman Abramovich.
But a third change of head coach is likely to spark some ins and outs among the squad.
And Chelsea have already been linked with a number of names ahead of the summer transfer window.
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SunSport exclusively revealed last week that Chelsea are ready to make a surprise £20m bid for Burnley and England keeper James Trafford – who was under contract at Manchester City until last summer.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is another main target for the Blues as he continues to be linked with a Premier League switch.
Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo is also receiving interest from Chelsea.
But Maresca could make his mark on transfers outside of those the club have already set their sights on.
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Leicester fans won’t miss Maresca
By Graeme Bryce
It’s fair to say most Leicester fans were not exactly pleading with Maresca to stay.
OK, they were not queueing up and offering to drive him to Stamford Bridge.
But there will not be too many tears shed or much wailing at the King Power either.
The fans’ attitude to losing their incredibly successful boss could be summed up in a word: ‘Meh’.
Maresca failed to win over the paying public who never really took to his patient, possession-based style of football.
Having been brought up — some would say spoiled — by the swashbuckling title winners of 2016, with Jamie Vardy spearheading manager Claudio Ranieri’s shock champions, Maresca never really got off the ground at the King Power.
So it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s notoriously impatient fans make of Maresca’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’ style of play.
It was not long before some of the old-school Leicester fans started moaning that Maresca’s patient, play-out-from-the-back style was becoming too boring to watch.
During a 3-1 win over Swansea which left them ten points clear at the top, there were moans and groans coming from the stands amid cries of, ‘Get the ball forward’.
Fans accused him of stubbornly sticking to his Plan A — even when it was not working — and claimed he was way too slow to make substitutions.
But one thing Blues fans can look forward to is his man-management and his attention to detail.
And the Foxes players also adored their manager.
Manchester City and England man Rico Lewis could well be an acquisition he looks at following the success of Cole Palmer.
Maresca coached Lewis during his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad.
And Lewis could look at the rise of ex-Man City man Palmer at Stamford Bridge – 27 goals in 48 games in his first season – as a template for what he could also go on to achieve at the club.
Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another Maresca may look to bring with him to Chelsea after a superb campaign at the King Power Stadium.
But the talented playmaker, who was linked with Brighton in the January window, is set to cost at least £35m.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
