Yahoo News Chelsea Enzo Maresca 'likely' claim made as Mauricio Pochettino exits
Enzo Maresca has been named on an early list of candidates to take over as Chelsea manager following the shock exit of Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday evening.
English football was rocked by the news of the Argentinian's departure after only one season in charge. It had appeared the Blues' American ownership - who have splashed over £1bn on players since 2022 - had finally grasped the concept of giving someone time to develop a young, progressive squad, though evidently not.
Pochettino had rescued European qualification come the end of the 2023/24 campaign, however that sixth-placed finish and the way his team played allegedly caused bosses to seek a mutual agreement to part ways.
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Now reports have begun explaining what exactly the London club are hoping to find in a new manager. Those traits are 'young' and 'progressive' according to The Telegraph, who then go on to claim that Foxes boss Maresca, 44, is 'likely' to be under consideration.
The Italian displayed his credentials during a first full year of management in English football, helping City back to the Premier League as Championship champions. He even gave a good account of himself in front of these potential employers when his team visited Chelsea in last season's FA Cup quarter-finals.
Overall Maresca - a student of Pep Guardiola - had his team average 62 percent possession across 53 matches in all competitions, scoring 89 goals from a shot conversion rate of 16 percent. These are all elements that West London chiefs were all believed to be disappointed in as they conducted an end-of-season review, as Chelsea converted only 10 percent of their season's chances while averaging 58.6 percent possession.
Also mentioned alongside the City manager are Brentford's Thomas Frank, Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna, Stuttgart's Sebastian Hoeness and Girona boss Michel.
The report explains that Chelsea sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart will lead the process to appoint Pochettino’s successor and report their findings to co-owners Behdad Eghbali, Todd Boehly and Jose E Feliciano. Available playing staff are due to report back from their summer holidays on July 4, providing an idea of the timescale they have to work with.
