Enzo Maresca enjoys the full backing of Chelsea’s hierarchy, who could not be happier with their progress under the Italian tactician – with the club already considering an option to extend his contract and with their two top transfer priorities in 2026 revealed by sources.
Maresca arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2024, after beating a number of candidates to the role and following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino. Regarded by some as a somewhat surprising choice, the Italian, however, stood out as the standout candidate to chairman Todd Boehly and co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano after nailing his interview with a hugely impressive blueprint to success.
Their faith in the 45-year-old has been rewarded: not only did Chelsea achieve a top-four finish ahead of schedule, he also secured his first trophy as they won UEFA Conference League, following up in the summer by impressively claiming the FIFA Club World Cup, which netted the Blues a bumper £85m ($98m, $120m) in prize money.
We understand that heading into this season, Maresca was tasked with cementing them as a top-four side and become a Champions League regular once again, having gone three seasons without top European football before his arrival.
Whilst results have been mixed at certain points this term, highlighted by Wednesday’s disappointing 3-1 loss at Leeds, a source close to the club is adamant that the Italian is absolutely not in any immediate danger of being removed from his role, while underlining further exactly why Chelsea’s hierrachy are ‘thoroughly pleased’ with how the Italian has entrenched himself within the club’s long-term philosophy.
“The basics are there for anyone to see, look what he has done with Reece James – Maresca has embraced him, he is the heartbeat of this squad,” the source told TEAMtalk.
“Maresca is getting the very best out of James, some didn’t think we would see this again, but now he is once again showing he is as good as anything in Europe.
“Likewise, look at Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo: Yes, Chelsea paid some £200million for them both. But it’s not that simple, and it’s not just throwing money at a situation.
“But under Maresca, as a pairing, they are as good as anything in the world. They have full belief in him, the whole squad does, that is key. The way he handles the players, the squad, the staff – it is special.”
DON’T MISS 🔵 Five-year net spend table shows Chelsea overtaken by Man Utd and Arsenal
Chelsea ready to discuss new deal with Maresca with two big signings eyed
Being in charge of Chelsea also means dealing with a complex hierarchy structure, as well as being part of a multi-club ownership with BlueCo. And again, he has taken that in his stride; he has no issue with how the club operates and indeed embraces their plans.
We also understand that Chelsea have plans to hold talks with Maresca next summer about his future, as they are open to extending his current deal, which currently has three and a half years left to run. However, there is no hurry from either side at this point, as they see it happening naturally when the time is right.
But what we can say with certainty is that the club do not want any unnecessary distractions from the task in hand, and as Maresca looks to reinvigorate his side from Wednesday’s disappointing setback at Elland Road.
A second successive away game, this time at Bournemouth, presents an opportunity to put points on the board and cement their top-four place in the Premier League.
Chelsea firmly believe they will be ready to push for the title next season, and will be adding to the squad to facilitate this in 2026, including a new number one goalkeeper and another high-calibre central defender.
Get the inside story first by joining our TEAMtalk Facebook channel to receive the latest breaking and exclusive news straight into your Messenger inbox.
Latest Chelsea news: Blues chase next Didier Drogba; Maignan 26 days from D-day
On the subject of that new goalkeeper, the Blues continue to keep a close eye on Mike Maignan’s situation at AC Milan as the Frenchman enters a critical junction over his future.
The 30-year-old is set to become a free agent next summer and is able to sign a pre-contract agreement to join an overseas club from January 1 – just 26 days from now.
Elsewhere on the transfer front, Chelsea are looking to beat a number of Premier League rivals, including Manchester United, to the signing of an African striker starlet who is being branded as the ‘next Didier Drogba’, sources can reveal.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have also held talks for versatile Austrian attacker, Johannes Moser, who was another standout player at the Under-17 World Cup.
However, the FC Liefering talent looks set to snub Premier League interest from the Blues and Manchester City in favour of a different destination.