There’s one manager who’s feeling pretty positive after holding his first talks with Chelsea about their vacant manager’s job.
While the dust settles on Mauricio Pochettino’s exit as Blues head coach, the speculation in the media now suggests that the club are busy behind the scenes hunting for his successor.
Pochettino left Stamford Bridge via mutual consent on Tuesday, sparking another managerial hunt at Chelsea.
The latest update in this fast-paced saga is that Chelsea have spoken to one of their leading candidates, who’s encouraged by the early discussion.
Manager pleased with early Chelsea talks
The Sun has claimed that Chelsea have stepped up their managerial search by sitting down to talk with Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca.
It is explained that Maresca is one of the leading candidates on Chelsea’s shortlist, along with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Brentford’s Thomas Frank, but there’s no favourite for the job yet.
The report says that Leicester’s Maresca was ‘encouraged’ by early talks with Chelsea.
Apparently, it would take a £10m release clause to snap him up from Championship winners Leicester. Despite no talk with the 44-year-old coach yet about contract details, it is believed he would get longer than the two-year deal handed to Pochettino last summer.
The Sun’s report adds that Chelsea hope to appoint their next head coach by the end of next week.
Is Enzo Maresca worth a punt?
There’s no hiding from the fact that Maresca is still a relative novice at senior management. In fact, he’s only managed 67 games at the first-team level (53 Leicester, 14 Parma).
However, the former Manchester City and West Ham assistant boss has proven already he’s a talented young manager to watch out for.
Leicester City midfielder Harry Winks delivered the kind of praise of Maresca back in February which is really fascinating.
Winks told talkSPORT: “He’s incredible in every way. He’s a manager who I think will certainly go to the very top. His understanding of football is something I’ve never witnessed before.
“I think his approachability and man-management is exceptional. I’ve really enjoyed working for him so much already and I’m still learning so much every day.”
Chelsea would be hiring an ambitious young manager in Maresca that is stubborn when it comes to possession-based football. But when Leicester clicked this season, they dominated matches in the Championship and stormed to promotion with a clear identity.
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