Chelsea have reached an agreement with Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca to become the club’s new manager
Sports Zone confirmed the London outfit have agreed terms in principle with the Italian tactician to take over the reins as the club’s new helmsman.
Maresca will replace former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino who was sacked despite leading the club to a sixth-place finish in his first season in the Blues’ dugout.
Details of Chelsea’s agreement with Enzo Maresca, as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, reveal the Leicester City manager has penned down a two-year contract with the club with an option of a one-year extension.
Maresca’s current employers, Leicester City, have also reportedly agreed to the move with Chelsea set to fork out €10m as compensation to the 2013 Premier League champions.
It what is a big career leap for the 44-year-old, Maresca will be expected to resume duties in the Blues’ dugout immediately and take charge of the club’s preseason friendlies ahead of the next campaign.
The former Italy U21 player started his journey in football management with Manchester City Elite Development Squad in 2020. A year into the role, he led the team to the Premier League 2 title. His impressive run with the Cityzen’s Reserve team saw the Italian football veteran earn his first appointment as a first-team manager in 2022.
He was appointed Parma manager and charged with the task of leading second division outfit to the Italian top-flight. Maresca fell short of the set benchmark and was sacked at the end of the campaign in November 2021. A few months later, he returned to Manchester City as an assistant manager to Pep Guardiola, where he honed his skills further on the cuts and thrusts of first-team management.
While working closely with Guardiola at Etihad, Maresca landed his second first-team management role in 2023. He was appointed the manager of Leicester City after the club suffered relegation to the English second tier.
Unlike his botched spell with Parma, Maresca aced it with Leicester City in his first season, leading the club back to the Premier League. He won 36 of his 53 games in charge, drawing 4, and recording 13 losses to accrue a win rate of 67.92%.
He will he hoping to continue on the bright start to his managerial career as he takes up a new challenge with Chelsea.
