Who is Enzo Maresca? Leicester manager linked with Chelsea role

The Italian coach guided Leicester to the Championship title, now he is being linked with Chelsea.

After the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino, the Chelsea manager hunt rolls on. The latest name linked with the job at Stamford Bridge is current Leicester City boss, Enzo Maresca, with the latest reports saying that the London club are currently holding talks with him in Marbella, where a minimum five-year deal is on the table.

Ben Jacbos reports that “positive dialogue over the past 48 hours” has taken place and “Chelsea’s leadership are impressed by Maresca’s squad knowledge and clear, possession-focused football identity”.

With the agreement close, there are just a few hurdles to get over before the white smoke. The latest information says that the compensation for Leicester City is yet to be agreed but could be around the $9-11m mark.

What is Maresca’s record at Leicester City?

The Italian joined the Championship side at the start of the season having left his role as assistant manager at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. In his first year as a head coach, Maresca won the English second division title with 97 points, just one ahead of second placed Ipswich Town, and went up the Premier League automatically. During the stellar bounce-back season, Maresca was named Championship Manager of the Month on four separate occasions.

The coach got off to a flying start in the Championship with his new side, dropping points in just 1 game of his first 13 in what is a notoriously difficult division that has a mammoth 46-game season. His patient style of play dominated other sides in the league: with Leicester keeping the ball for large swathes, teams quickly became worn out and plenty of goals were scored as the opponent’s energy levels dipped late on.

The 44-year-old was born in south-west Italy where he began playing for the AC Milan youth academy before moving to Cagliari’s setup. Curiously, he made his senior debut for West Bromwich Albion in 1998 in England before moving back to Italy with Juventus.

From there he moved around Europe, playing for teams such as Fiorentina, Sevilla and Olympiacos, before hanging up his boots in 2017 after a spell with Hellas Verona.

As a manager, he began coaching for the Manchester City youth team in 2020 before moving to Parma for a short while. However, he didn’t last long in the job and was quickly dismissed.

In June 2022 Maresca returned to Manchester City as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistant managers, replacing the outgoing Juanma Lillo, who became manager of Al-Sadd. It was there where Leicester City showed an interest and brought in the Italian after confirming their relegation to England’s second tier. Now, it seems that another club in blue in the Premier League are ready to give him a shot at success.