Chelsea step up Enzo Maresca interest as they pursue replacement for Pochettino

Chelsea want to speak to Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca as they pursue a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.

Maresca guided Leicester back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and previously worked for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola's assistant.

The leading candidates to replace Mauricio Pochettino, who departed on Tuesday, are Kieran McKenna, Maresca, Thomas Frank and Sebastian Hoeness.

The new head coach has to fit into the club structure, play possession-based football, be collegiate and collaborative, be comfortable dealing with the media spotlight and be ready to go head to head with Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

Co-owner Behdad Eghbali is in London to oversee the process of appointing a new head coach with the process led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

What's next for Poch?

Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solekhol:

"Mauricio Pochettino is raring to go again after leaving Chelsea.

"He wants to work again but it's too early to talk about any specific jobs as it will be an interesting summer for out-of-work managers.

"He likes living and working in England, so, depending on the terms of his departure from Chelsea, it would be no surprise to see him back at work in the Premier League at some point in the future.

"Chelsea believe they are a Champions League club. For a variety of reasons, they've not met that target. There are no hard feelings between the owners and Pochettino, the players like him, and fans like him too.

"It's a job that takes time. Chelsea managers don't get a lot of time and it seems like history is repeating itself under the new ownership."

'It's madness' - Merson stunned by Poch exit

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson:

"Cannot believe he's gone. Who is making these decisions?

"How are you going to replace him? He's just got this team playing. Finished sixth, got into Europe. It's madness.

"I cannot believe what I'm hearing."

How Leicester bounced back to Premier League

It was touch-and-go at times towards the end, but Enzo Maresca's Leicester secured promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking last month.