Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca is close to being named as Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement at Chelsea, according to Fabrizio Romano on his Twitter (X) account.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur and PSG man left the Blues by mutual consent at the end of the season following a sixth-placed finish, despite securing a place in the Europa Conference League and having won his final five games in charge.
Maresca has only been with Leicester one season since taking over from Dean Smith but has helped them to the Championship title in a three-way battle with Ipswich Town and Leeds United. They finished top of the summit on 97 points, which is likely to have alerted the Blues. The Foxes won an impressive 31 of their 46 matches securing an immediate return to the top flight.
The Italian has also managed Manchester City U21s and Parma during his managerial career and has achieved a very high return of two points per game for both Leicester and Man City, according to Sofascore.
He’s very much a manager who is on the up currently and has gained plenty of plaudits as a result. It doesn’t come as a huge surprise to see Maresca close to a move, which could leave the Foxes in some bother.
Romano reports that the contracts have all been agreed upon with Maresca and his representatives and that Leicester will receive a hefty sum for their troubles at around the €10 million. Whilst the terms of the contract haven’t yet been disclosed, it is understood to be either two or three years.
Both McKenna and Ruben Amorim have been in the running but were informed on Sunday evening they are no longer in the frame according to Romano as Chelsea close in on their main target.
Writer’s View
Having won the title it’s not a surprise to see Maresca being scouted by top teams at all. Surely he will see the Foxes as a project but with that being said he will know with the €10 million fee that they are being well compensated. That sort of fee will more than help to get Leicester a new boss should he leave.
That being said he would be the 12th manager Chelsea have had in the last ten years, Maresca is likely to have done his research on the Blues and how patient they are with their men in charge. The lure of European football may be enough of a pull though and Maresca making what will be deemed a step-up could well be on.