May 30th 2024.
Enzo Maresca is about to embark on a new journey as he signs a five-year contract with Chelsea, with the option of an additional year. The Italian, who led Leicester City back to the Premier League after winning the Championship, will be taking over the reins from Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
According to reports from The Daily Telegraph, the deal between Maresca and the club is in its final stages and is expected to be officially announced by the end of this week. The fact that the contract includes a five-year term with the possibility of an extra year is a strong display of trust and support from the club's US investors, Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly.
Maresca's predecessor, Pochettino, was only given a two-year contract with an option for a third year, which was cut short after just one year. Similarly, Graham Potter was also handed a five-year deal, but was sacked after only seven months. In contrast, Thomas Tuchel was signed on a shorter 18-month contract in January 2021.
Upon his arrival, Maresca is expected to bring along at least six members of staff from Leicester, including former Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who served as his assistant manager last season. Other members of his team will include coaches Danny Walker and Roberto Vitiello, goalkeeper coach Michele de Bernardin, fitness coach Marcos Alvarez, and first-team analyst Javier Molina Caballero.
Maresca's time at the King Power Stadium was his second stint as a first-team manager, following a disappointing spell at Parma in Serie B. Prior to that, he had worked at Manchester City, where he caught the eye of Pep Guardiola. In fact, the City boss had even praised Maresca, saying that he would become an "extraordinary manager" in the future.
During his time at City, Maresca had served as one of Guardiola's assistant managers from 2022 to 2023. However, it was his work with the club's youth side that garnered the most praise, with Guardiola even comparing him to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
In August 2020, Maresca joined City as the manager of their Elite Development Squad, and under his guidance, the club's Under-23 side went on to win the Premier League 2 that season. Guardiola had said in May 2021 that he was delighted with Maresca's work and had no doubt that he would become an "extraordinary manager" in the future.
With Maresca now at the helm of Chelsea, all eyes will be on him as he strives to bring stability to the club after a series of tumultuous seasons. Will he be able to lead the Blues back to their former glory? Only time will tell.
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