It has been revealed who will replace Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea coach. Enzo Maresca is rumored to be the new captain of the Blues next season.
Chelsea has not had a head coach for the past week. This is because Todd Boehly decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino last week.
The Blues management immediately moved quickly. They are starting to look for someone who could be their new captain in the 2024/2025 season.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Chelsea had found this figure. They will employ Enzo Maresca as their manager in the upcoming 2024/2025 season.
According to Romano’s report, Chelsea have reached an agreement to make Maresca their manager for the 2024/2025 season.
The manager will sign a long-term contract. He was contracted for five years to become Chelsea captain.
Apart from that, there is an option to extend the coach’s contract for one year, so that he can manage the Blues until 2030.
Romano also said that Chelsea had to pay compensation to Leicester City for Maresca’s transfer.
This is because Maresca has only been in charge of The Foxes for one year. So Chelsea must redeem the remainder of the coach’s contract at the King Power Stadium.
According to reports circulating, the amount of compensation that Chelsea must pay is around 10 million pounds.
Maresca himself attracted attention from Chelsea because of his impressive achievements with Leicester City.
In his first season, he led the Foxes to win the Championship and now they are promoted to the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca is still very young, 44 years old. When he was still actively playing, his position was midfielder. He retired as a player in 2018, with Sevilla as his last team.
After retiring, Maresca became coach of Manchester City’s age group team. He worked for the U-21 and U-23 teams. In 2021, Maresca was appointed as Parma coach. Then at the start of the 2023/2024 season, Leicester proposed to him, since then Enzo Maresca’s name has soared.
Indeed, the situation is quite unique. He is still very young as a coach, his experience is minimal. However, it seems that Chelsea doesn’t only see Maresca as someone who can take them to the Champions League next season. They want an attractive style of football, based on ball control and dominance.
Well, Maresca studied directly under Josep Guardiola when he was still at Man City. Even though his time was short, he was able to see firsthand how Guardiola worked to form a Man City team as strong as it is now.
Maresca’s experience under Guardiola is what perhaps made Leicester dare to take the risk, and now Chelsea are also interested. Another of Guardiola’s students who is considered a potential coach.
“Maresca is so attached to Guardiola’s style of play, so it’s only natural that he steals the attention of top clubs when he manages to make that style of play successful on the pitch, which is what he did at Leicester,” said Jordan Blackwell, Sky Sports analyst.
“I think Chelsea are trying to think outside the box by bringing in Maresca, a figure who is widely praised for his tactical understanding and sharpness. He not only works as Guardiola’s assistant, but also as Man City U-21 coach,” he concluded.
