Revealed: Chelsea CLOSE to appointing Maresca as Pochettino's replacement

Cameron Smith

27 May 2024 13:10 BST
3 min read

Enzo Maresca, Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca is now Chelsea’s number one target to replace Mauricio Pochettino and the Italian is reportedly “close” to being appointed by the Stamford Bridge outfit.

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Maresca, 44, joined Leicester last summer and he guided the Foxes to the Championship title during his first campaign at the club.

Pep Guardiola’s former assistant at Manchester City is highly-regarded by the Chelsea hierarchy due to his possession-based style of play and he has emerged as the Blues’ preferred candidate.

That is according to The Telegraph, who have reported that Maresca is close to leaving Leicester to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Negotiations are reportedly in an advanced stage, after Chelsea requested official permission to speak to Maresca, with the Blues set to pay Leicester around €12 million in compensation to appoint the ex-Man City assistant manager.

The Italian has emerged as the Blues’ first-choice target ahead of Roberto De Zerbi and Thomas Frank, and a deal is expected to be wrapped up later this week.

Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna reportedly withdrew from consideration over the weekend amid interest from Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion.

What is Enzo Maresca's style of play?

Having been moulded by Guardiola, it’s no surprise Maresca favours a possession-heavy system with a large emphasis on keeping the ball; only Southampton averaged a higher possession percentage in the Championship than Leicester last season (65.6% to 62.2%).

Under Pochettino, Chelsea were largely a transition-focused side, utilising a free attacking structure that allowed the likes of Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson to express themselves on the pitch.

That won’t be completely eradicated under Maresca, but Chelsea’s attackers will be required to play with less freedom and more structure, similar to Arsenal and Man City.

It’s this style of play that led Leicester fans to call Maresca’s football ‘boring’ and Chelsea should expect a similar system if the Italian arrives at Stamford Bridge.

His favoured approach lends itself well to an elite Premier League club, rather than one fighting relegation, and Maresca will likely continue to utilise a back-three system in possession, with one full-back shifting into a centre-back role and the other moving into midfield.