The appointment of Enzo Maresca as the club’s new Head Coach has been approved by Chelsea.
The Italian has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge with the option of a further year and will officially start his new role on 1 July.
‘Itg’s a dream for any coach to be part of Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world. That’s why I’m very excited about this opportunity,’ the new chief executive of the Blues
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I’m looking forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff in order to create a team that will continue the club’s tradition of success, while making our fans proud.” ‘
We are very pleased to have Enzo at Chelsea,’ said Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who were directors of sport for the company when Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as his successor.
He’s proved to be an excellent coach, capable of producing impressive results in a dynamic and identifiable manner.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna initially appeared to be the frontrunner, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank and former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi also in the mix.
But Maresca impressed Chelsea’s hierarchy during talks and there is a feeling that his heavy focus on possession football is an ideal fit for the squad.
Maresca had a release clause in his contract with Leicester which increased following their promotion back to the Premier League, with Chelsea paying around £10million to prise him away.
The Blues have been keen to bring in a young, dynamic coach who plays modern, progressive football and feel Pep Guardiola disciple Maresca ticks all the necessary boxes.
He guided Leicester to 97 points and the Championship title last season, boasting the best defensive record in the league while also scoring 89 goals – a tally only bettered by Ipswich.
Maresca also overhauled the team’s style of play, advocating a possession-based game which averaged 62 per cent over the course of the season – second only to Southampton.
He has close ties to Guardiola and Manchester City, having been the club’s Elite Development Squad manager in the 2020-21 season.
That earned him a job with Serie B side Parma, though he lasted just 14 games and was sacked having won only four times, and he returned to City in the summer of 2022 as one of Guardiola’s assistants after Juanma Lillo left.
City enjoyed an historic campaign that year, finally winning the Champions League as they completed the treble.