Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has previously prophesied that Enzo Maresca will become a ‘amazing’ manager, three years before his planned appointment at Chelsea. The Blues are getting close to confirming the Italian as their new head coach as their hunt for a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino comes to an end. Maresca had a great first full season as manager, leading Leicester City to the Championship title in the previous season.
The 44-year-old joined Leicester from Manchester City after finishing second to Guardiola in the treble-winning season. It was his second time at the Etihad Stadium, having previously coached the club’s elite development team (EDS), with a brief stint as manager of Serie B side Parma sandwiching his two periods at City. In 2021, after Maresca guided the Manchester City development squad to the Premier League 2 title, Guardiola made a strong prediction about Maresca’s management credentials, drawing a similarity to another of his former assistants. ‘We are thrilled with Enzo Maresca; with all of his organisation with the EDS, he has demonstrated that he will be an exceptional manager in the future. Extraordinary.
“I feel it. As I felt with Mikel Arteta, I see it with Enzo; [he] will be an excellent manager, and he has helped to develop many, many young players.”
Chelsea have revealed the replacement for Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked just over a week ago. Over the course of a turbulent few days, Blues fans – many of whom never wanted Pochettino fired in the first place – have been kept on edge as a number of very unimpressive names have been associated with the top job at Stamford Bridge. For a while, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna appeared to be the selected one. But earlier this week, he received a personal phone call from the board advising him that they had decided to proceed in a different way. Specifically, one place higher in the Championship standings.
Enzo Maresca, who led Leicester City to the second-tier victory last season, is now set to take over in west London, having signed a five-year contract. The appointment has elicited mixed reactions, but if there are some questions about Maresca’s success, Chelsea’s much-maligned owners and sporting directors have at least stuck to their objective in chasing the former Parma manager.
Chelsea is likely to pay Leicester a compensation money as they say goodbye to Maresca after only one season, during which the Italian masterminded their quick return to the Premier League as Championship winners. Maresca had previously served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City and followed a similar tactical pattern to his former coach with the Foxes, who finished the Championship season with 97 points.
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