Chelsea is currently in the midst of ongoing discussions with Enzo Maresca, the manager of Leicester City, with the intention of appointing him as their next head coach.
However, no agreement has been reached as of yet, according to a report from football.london.
The club is eager to finalize the appointment of the Italian manager as soon as possible.
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley recently traveled to Spain to meet with Maresca, who has emerged as the top candidate to replace Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino recently left Chelsea by mutual consent after a season in which he guided the team to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
Maresca has become the leading contender for the head coach position following thorough discussions about various potential candidates.
Despite his relatively limited experience as a senior manager—having managed Parma for only 14 matches—there is a sense of optimism that he can achieve success at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea is looking to offer Maresca a five-year contract, aiming to finalize the deal by the end of the week.
This would provide enough time for the recruitment team and Maresca to plan and prepare for the upcoming season.
Although the deal is not yet finalized, there are no expected obstacles in the negotiations.
Chelsea is prepared to compensate Leicester City for Maresca, who is currently under contract with the club.
The initial contact with Maresca was made to gauge his interest in the head coach position, and Leicester subsequently gave Chelsea permission to proceed with negotiations.
Stewart and Winstanley have been persistent in their efforts to secure Maresca as Chelsea’s third permanent head coach in the past 15 months.
Among the other candidates Chelsea considered were Brentford’s Thomas Frank, former Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi, and Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna.
However, Maresca’s impressive performance with Leicester, including leading them to promotion back to the Premier League, distinguished him from the other candidates.
Maresca brings a diverse and rich background to the table.
He has served as an assistant to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham and has worked in Spain with Sevilla.
Additionally, he played a significant role as Pep Guardiola’s assistant during Manchester City’s treble-winning 2022/23 season before taking on the managerial role at Leicester.
The discussions with Maresca are ongoing, and Chelsea is optimistic about reaching a successful conclusion.
The club hopes to leverage Maresca’s varied experience and recent success to bring about a new era of success at Stamford Bridge.
The aim is to have Maresca fully onboard and ready to work with the recruitment team to build and prepare the squad for the next season, thereby ensuring that Chelsea can compete at the highest level in the Premier League and other competitions.
