Premier League

ENZO MARESCA learned from the best at Manchester City.And now he is using that experience to guide Leicester City back to the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca was appointed as Leicester manager in June and has since led the Foxes to the top of the Championship tableCredit: Getty
Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man CityCredit: EPA
Maresca, 43, took charge of the Foxes in June – shortly after they were relegated from England’s top tier.
Despite losing key players such as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, the Italian has completely transformed the squad and turned them into Championship trailblazers.
Stoke manager Alex Neil has even suggested that his Leicester team will go down as “one of the best Championship sides of all time”.
The Foxes are currently leading the table with 30 points from 11 games.
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Ipswich Town are hot on their heels with 28, but there is a huge gulf between the top two teams and those that follow.
But how did Maresca transform Leicester? The former Man City assistant is convinced that his work ethic has been a huge factor in his success so far.
Until recently he had regularly been sleeping at Leicester’s Seagrave base.
Speaking to the Daily Mail earlier this year, he said: “There is no limit to my team.
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“The most important thing is the ‘idea’, to show we know what we are doing.”
Shortly after his arrival, Maresca even went as far as making his squad stay overnight at the club’s training ground for a week in a bid to hammer home his principles.
Before joining Leicester, the former midfielder was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City.
He helped lead the Cityzens to the treble last season.
Speaking about Guardiola’s influence, Maresca told Sky Sports: “I’ve been lucky, I’ve worked under Ancelotti, Lippi, Manuel Pellegrini, all fantastic managers, but in terms of understanding the game, Pep has 100 per cent had an impact on me.
“It helps a lot having worked with the kinds of people [I have worked with]. You learn things and at the end you create your own idea as a manager and as a person. It’s just something gradual.
“The first idea was probably born when I faced Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team as a player, that was the first time I realised something different happened and I was curious to understand, so I started analysing games and from there taking things from different managers. In the end you create your own idea.” More

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Roy Keane should return to management as he is “still young”, according to a former team-mate.Keane has not held a coaching role for over four years since his brief coaching stint with Nottingham Forest in 2019.
Manchester United legend Roy Keane has been advised to return to managementCredit: PA
Sky Sports pundit Keane is still young enough to rekindle his managerial careerCredit: Sky Sports
Kieran Richardson played with Keane at Man Utd and under him at SunderlandCredit: PA:Empics Sport
The former midfielder has managed Sunderland and Ipswich as well as being assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and Forest.
The ex-Ireland international has been a regular at Sky Sports where he works as a pundit along with other fellow legends.
But Kieran Richardson insists Keane would be a “great” boss and would perfectly fit today’s game.
Richardson spent three years playing with the Irish hardman at United until the latter’s departure in 2005.
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The former full-back-turned-midfielder also played under the Red Devils great at Sunderland during the 2007-08 season.
And the ex-England international is adamant there is a club out there for the 52-year-old, who is still young enough to rekindle his managerial career.
Richardson exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “I feel like Roy would be a great manager in today’s game.
“I do really feel like there’s a club out there for him. He’s still young, everyone knows his personality… why can’t he go and manage somewhere?
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“That’s a question for him, not me. I just don’t see why he can’t still have a successful career in management in the next few years.”
Keane still has admirers in the game as SunSport revealed Wales wanted him to replace Robert Page as their manager in June.
The TV pundit is hugely admired by Football Association of Wales CEO and fellow Irishman Noel Mooney.
But Mooney was talked down by other senior members of the Welsh hierarchy, who called for the FAW to support Page for the rest of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
And their faith in the Welsh tactician has been vindicated as the 49-year-old is close to punching the Dragons’ ticket for the summer’s finals in Germany. More

MANCHESTER UNITED youngster Kobbie Mainoo is on the verge of making his return from injury.And fans can’t wait to see him in action.
Kobbie Mainoo sunned fans with a tricky skill in trainingCredit: Twitter @KatsoKreations
The midfielder attempted a no-look backwards pass with the outside of his bootCredit: Twitter @KatsoKreations
Mainoo, 18, suffered an ankle injury during United’s pre-season clash with Real Madrid in July.
The midfielder returned to full first team training earlier this week as he looks to regain fitness.
Man Utd shared a clip of the youngster on social media on Friday, leaving fans excited for his upcoming return.
Many were particularly impressed with a tricky skill he managed to pull off.
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After receiving the ball in a small amount of space, Mainoo completed a backwards no-look pass with the outside of his boot.
Fans took to the comments to react, with one person tweeting: “Mainoo‘s pass, I can’t sleep.”
Another added: “Dude wasn’t injured, he’s been upgrading skills I guess 😂.”
A third wrote: “I have watched this 10×.”
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While a fourth fan commented: “How did he do that? Man! This boy is a rare talent!”
Despite his impressive display in training, Mainoo is not expected to be named in Erik ten Hag’s squad to face Sheffield United this weekend as he is yet to return to full fitness.
Casemiro is also set to be absent due to an ankle injury he sustained while on international duty.
But new boys Rasmus Hojlund, Sofyan Amrabat and Sergio Reguilon will likely make an appearance despite initial injury scares. More

MARTA DIAZ broke down in tears while discussing Sergio Reguilon in her recent documentary series.Her Amazon Prime show, La Vida de Marta Diaz, recently premiered.
Marta Diaz dazzled at her documentary series premiereCredit: Rex
The influencer wore a red dress on the blue carpetCredit: The Mega Agency
Marta posted plenty of snaps to Instagram from the eventCredit: Instagram @martaa_diiaz
The model broke down in tears as she discussed Sergio Reguilon
The influencer posted a lengthy, gushing Instagram post on May 6, marking four years together with Reguilon.
But recent reports in Spain have claimed the couple have broken up.
Reguilon, 26, features surprisingly frequently in the doc, given the split rumours, although much of it was filmed beforehand.
In the third and final episode, Marta cried as she discussed the Manchester United loanee.
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Without explicitly admitting they were no longer together, she said: “I would say many things to Sergio… Thank you, thank you for…”
Her voice then cracked as she welled up, before she managed to add: “Eh….For everything. He has helped me a lot and he has been a very, very important pillar for me, and he will always be.”
Reguilon was not pictured at the documentary’s premiere.
Nor did he attend former team-mate Marcos Llorente’s wedding alongside Marta.
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The left-back spent last season on loan at Atletico Madrid, having met the influencer in the Spanish capital.
He subsequently completed pre-season with Tottenham, before completing a shock loan switch to Old Trafford.
After attending her documentary series’ premiere, Marta posted a lengthy statement on Instagram alongside a number of pictures from the event.
Part of the emotional post read: “I know it’s strange to say this, but for once I want to thank myself.
“I am always the first to show myself a thousand flaws, and to be my worst enemy, but not today…
“Today I want to give myself the pleasure of telling myself that I am proud of myself.
“Myself, that I have carried it forward, only I know the strength and desire that I have had to put into it, especially in that last month, when the only thing I needed was to be in bed crying, or sleeping so that the hours would pass.”
Marta and Reguilon celebrated four years together earlier this yearCredit: Instagram @martaa_diiaz
The couple met in Madrid during Reguilon’s Real daysCredit: Getty
Marta has 3.4million Instagram followersCredit: instagram @martaa_diaz
Marta proudly discussed her new docCredit: Rex
She regularly receives hundreds of thousands of likes on her postsCredit: Instagram @martaa_diiaz More