It has been almost three months since Chelsea made the bold decision to sack Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day, and now, a Premier League club has identified the Italian as their next manager.
Maresca was sacked 18 months into his tenure, despite winning a Club World Cup and Europa Conference League title during his stint as manager. But clashing with the board is never going to end successfully.
Eventually, Liam Rosenior was hired. But the discontent has continued, with Rosenior losing six of his 18 games in charge, though five of those defeats have come against Arsenal and PSG. Newcastle, the other.
It’s time to bin the five-year plan, Todd 😡
Joe Cole is absolutely right.
For Maresca, the former Parma boss remains out of work, despite links with a few of the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Fabrizio Romano, however, reports that Maresca is a big contender for a massive job.
Fabrizio Romano says Enzo Maresca will replace Pep Guardiola
Over at Man City, Pep Guardiola is struggling to spark a tune out of his star-studded side. Knocked out of the Champions League and now some way behind Arsenal, there are question marks over Pep’s future.
Of course, Maresca was hired by Leicester City after working under Guardiola at Man City and now, as per Romano, City have identified Maresca as the man to replace Guardiola when the Spaniard does depart.
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, speaks to the media
Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
“Eventually, if Pep decides to leave Manchester City from now to the end of the season, the name already identified to become their next manager remains, according to my information, Enzo Maresca,” he said.
“Maresca, so far, didn’t have any sort of contact with Tottenham or with Man United despite reports in England because obviously also those close Maresca are aware of the situation with Manchester City.
“But again, City are just kind of preparing for when it’s going to be time to say goodbye to Guardiola. But it’s Pep deciding. At the moment, Pep has not made any official decision. So this is the situation.”
Were Chelsea right to sack Maresca?
Given the state of Chelsea at the moment, Rosenior and Maresca are being compared regularly. Many feel it was harsh to sack Maresca in the first place and some even suggest Chelsea were better defensively.
Enzo Maresca hang your head in shame 😬
Was he the problem?
Enzo Maresca's prediction about Joao Pedro was wrong
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
John Obi Mikel says it was the wrong decision to get rid of Maresca. But, there have been plenty of ups during Rosenior’s 18-game reign, including the incredible form of Joao Pedro, who is scoring plenty.
Maresca once said that Pedro is not the type of striker who can score 20 goals, yet in a few weeks, Rosenior has turned him into that kind of striker. Was it harsh? Yes. But that shouldn’t impact Rosenior.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox