Chelsea gamble on Guardiola disciple Maresca to revive their fortunes

• Chelsea has settled on Enzo Maresca as their new manager
• He signed a five-year deal valid until June 2029 with an extended option until 2030
• Chelsea is set to pay Leicester City a compensation fee

Chelsea FC has finally settled on Enzo Maresca as their new head coach on a five-year deal valid until 2029 with another year option until June 2023, and they are set to compensate Leicester City.

He is an Italian football manager and a former professional footballer who is currently the head coach of Leicester City. He spent most of his years in the Manchester coaching staff under Pep Guardiola who made him learn more about coaching.

After a difficult season for Chelsea’s search for a new manager who will replace the outgoing, Mauricio Pochettino, their search seems to be reaching a surprising conclusion on appointing Enzo Maresca.

A report by All Football indicates that he has been appointed on a five-year contract valid until June 2029, with a one-year extension option until June 2030. The club is also set to pay compensation to Leicester City.

The Italian manager has an extensive coaching record at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. He is known for his unique coaching style, which could be the reason behind Chelsea’s decision on his appointment. 

However, his limited experience raises eyebrows if he. He is known for his unique coaching style, which will lead the club to more success as it is known for wins. Though his tenure at Leicester was brief, he helped them get out of the relegation zone leading them to the Premier League.

Why is Chelsea interested in Maresca?

Their interest in the manager is a bold move, a desire for a fresh approach and a focus on long-term development. His profile has several qualities that Chelsea could be looking for and his youth development expertise at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola’s philosophy is a big advantage to the Blues.

Enzo Maresca to leave Leicester City. Photo/Sky Sports

He has also shown potential in developing young talent and his most significant achievement is leading Manchester City’s youth team to a Premier League 2 title in 2021, a competition that featured some of the best young players in England and winning it demonstrated his ability to nurture and coach young talent at a high level.

His commitment to develop young careers aligns well with Chelsea’s focus of promoting youth talent from their academy.

Maresca’s play style

His play style is mostly focused on possession, control and positional play. High ball possession is a core principle for him and Leicester City under his management has some of the highest stats in the Championship.

He often uses inverted full-backs to form a temporary back three. This style provides numerical superiority in midfield and helps in ball retention. His wingers tend to stay high and wide initially, but can drift inwards to create overloads in central areas when needed.

The manager has also shown tactical flexibility and he can adjust his approach based on the opponent and the game situation. His play style is similar to that of Pep Guardiola and this could be the main reason why Chelsea is looking forward to making him the head coach. As the play style will be important to their team’s success.

Maresca managerial career

After retiring from professional football, he transitioned into coaching eventually joining Pep Guardiola who was at that moment coaching Manchester City, while he was part of the coaching staff.

He then took over as the manager of Parma in Serie B where he portrayed his leadership qualities. Currently, he is heading Leicester City in the Premier League and helped them back to the Premier league.

Enzo Maresca new Chelsea manager. Photo/SuperSport

As part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff, he led Manchester City’s development squad to their first-ever Premier League 2 title. Guardiola acknowledged his contribution in developing young talent with his playing style.

Maresca appointment as Chelsea’s new manager

Chelsea FC has finally settled on Enzo Maresca as their new head coach on a five year deal valid until 2029 with another year option until June 2023, and they are set to compensate Leicester City.

After a difficult season for Chelsea’s search for a new manager who will replace the outgoing, Mauricio Pochettino, their search seems to be reaching a surprising conclusion on appointing Enzo Maresca.

A report by All Football indicates that he has been appointed on a five year contract valid until June 2029, with a one year extension option until June 2030. The club is also set to pay compensation to Leicester City.