Yahoo News Enzo Maresca named favourite to land Chelsea manager job
Enzo Maresca has been listed as a 2/1 favourite to replace Mauricio Pochettino as manager of Chelsea. The man who only a couple of weeks ago guided Leicester City to the Championship title is leading the way to take over at Stamford Bridge with online bookies bet365, narrowly ahead of ex-Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi (11/4) and Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna (3/1).
Other candidates listed to take over from Pochettino, who left the club by mutual consent on Tuesday after a sixth-placed finish in the top-flight, include Thomas Frank (Brentford - 7/1), Rubin Amorim (Sporting CP - 12/1) and Michel Sanchez (Girona - 14/1).
Maresca, an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking over at the King Power Stadium nearly a year ago, has polished his credentials after a thrilling campaign with the Foxes which at one point threatened to smash a hosts of second tier records before a drop off in form saw them edge over the line with a game to spare.
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But the Italian has made clear his ambition, even though he has also spoken of staying with Leicester for several seasons, so a move to Chelsea would no doubt hold great appeal, even though his lack of any Premier League managerial experience would make such an appointment a huge surprise.
Elsewhere, the Italian is ranked as 4/1 third favourite for the job behind De Zerbi and McKenna by Sky Bet, while on some sites he is not listed at all, exposing the volatility of early betting for the post.
Chelsea earned themselves a reputation for hiring and firing managers whatever their pedigree under the ownership of Roman Abramovic, when the likes of Jose Morinho and Carlo Ancelotti were shown the door despite their successes.
It is a habit maintained by the club’s current owners, although the profile of their managers has varied between A-listers like Thomas Tuchel and Pochettino to the relatively inexperienced Graham Potter. What they all have in common is leaving the club after a relatively short tenure of little more than a year.
Speaking about his future on arriving at Leicester, Maresca was clearly looking at the longer term. He said: “I always imagine myself with the same team for five or six years and imagine how good we could be. I can see my team after just one month so I can imagine what they will be like in five years’ time.
“That's the dream for all managers but today it is difficult. I know many managers who do not get the opportunity to finish one season. It's all changed and now it is difficult to find a manager who has stayed at the same club for many years.
“It’s my dream today. If you ask me for my professional dream it's to stay in one club and build something important for many years.”
However, the club are currently subject to an EFL transfer embargo, and although that is likely to end now that the Foxes are a top-flight outfit once again, that elevation will bring its own issues with City facing a points penalty for breaching player spending rules.
All in all, the baggage that comes with being Leicester City manager in the Premier League may persuade the Italian that the time has come to look elsewhere.
