Romano’s Chelsea bomb: Manager who ‘breathes attacking football’ is ‘more than keen’ on job

Robin Bairner

25 May 2024 12:00 BST
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca is “more than keen” on becoming Chelsea manager following the decision to part company with Mauricio Pochettino.

Article continues under the video

Pochettino left the club by mutual consent at the conclusion of the Premier League season, despite leading the Blues back to Europe following a storming second half to the campaign.

Chelsea want a manager who “breathes attacking football” to take over from the Argentine, with Maresca as well as Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna two of those pinpointed by the Stamford Bridge leadership.

Romano has revealed that Maresca would be eager to take up the role, stating that the 44-year-old is “more than keen”.

“I can confirm that Maresca is super open and super keen on joining Chelsea. So it's a concrete possibility,” Romano writes for the Daily Briefing.

“He’s not the only target. Hoeness doesn't want to leave Stuttgart, Michel is also very happy at Girona, but Thomas Frank remains there, McKenna remains there and it’s true that there is also another candidate in Chelsea’s list but there’s no clarity on who that is yet, so they are still discussing all the possibilities.

“Maresca said no to Sevilla, he wants to work in the Premier League, at Leicester or any other club, he wants to stay in England and he has a release clause around €10m.”

Maresca set for interview

Although Chelsea are constrained financially this summer, they are unlikely to allow a relatively small figure to prevent them from landing the manager they see as the best option to take them forward.

The Standard has reported that Maresca has been lined up for an interview at Stamford Bridge, making his arrival at the club a distinct possibility.

The Leicester boss is also attracting interest from Porto, but it appears Chelsea are firmly in the driving seat if they really want him.