When Enzo Maresca joined Chelsea from Leicester City last summer, he signed an initial five-year contract.
Considering that and the fact that Chelsea can still achieve their goals this season, Enzo Maresca‘s position really should not be a topic of conversation right now.
The Blues are just one point behind fourth place in the Premier League table, while finishing in fifth could also be enough for Champions League qualification.
Even so, it appears that the club have a contingency plan if push comes to shove, and Chelsea supporters are not going to like it.

Chelsea could turn to Gareth Southgate
While Chelsea remain in the hunt for a top-four finish and can still win some silverware this term thanks to their participation in the Conference League, their form since the end of December has not been good enough.
Maresca’s men have won just three of their last 10 Premier League fixtures, taking 12 points from the 30 that were on offer.
One source has now told Si Phillips Talks Chelsea that while owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are not currently looking to replace Maresca, the Blues have “some communications open” with former England manager Gareth Southgate, who they see as a potential interim option.
Some Chelsea fans are frustrated with Maresca at the moment, but that does not mean they want to see Southgate in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

Gareth Southgate appointment would be unforgivable
Boehly and Eghbali are not popular figures among the Chelsea fanbase presently, especially the latter. Sacking Maresca and replacing Southgate would end any hope of reconciliation between supporters and the ownership.
England’s recent record at major tournaments suggest that Southgate did a good job during his eight-year reign as Three Lions boss. But with the players that the 54-year-old had at his disposal, many feel that he should have done better.
The above includes Chelsea fans, who were not happy with his decision to snub Cole Palmer at Euro 2024. The attacking midfielder scored in the final against Spain and set up Ollie Watkins in the previous round but failed to make a single start throughout the whole competition.
Palmer himself spoke about his frustration at not getting a start in Germany last summer in an interview with GQ.
“It was frustrating at England, to be fair,” the 22-year-old said. “Not to say that the players aren’t good. But just coming off the back of the season I had, the form I was in, everything I was doing was coming off… so I’m not playing in the first two games even when the team was struggling, it was a bit like, ‘Why?’ Do you know what I mean?”

Ultimately, Southgate is already on the bad side of Chelsea supporters. And having not managed in the Premier League since 2009 when he was still in charge of Middlesbrough, they are not going to be convinced that Southgate can compete tactically with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot and Mikel Arteta.
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have made some big mistakes at Chelsea, but recommending Southgate as a replacement for Maresca would be their biggest yet. And if Boehly and Eghbali actually sign off on that, you would have to worry about the direction the Blues are heading in.
When the two businessmen arrived at Stamford Bridge, Thomas Tuchel was at the helm, a Champions League-winning manager. To go from that to Southgate in just three years would be utterly unforgivable and cement Chelsea’s status as a once great club.