Chelsea in advanced talks to hire No 1 manager target as another candidate pulls out of the race

Chelsea are reportedly now in advanced talks over hiring Enzo Maresca as their new manager as he closes in on leaving Leicester City to take over at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian tactician impressed with Leicester in the season just gone, helping them win promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship, and it now seems set to earn him a major new job.

That’s according to the Telegraph, who state that Maresca is now the clear number one target for Chelsea, with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna said to have pulled out of the race to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

The report adds that CFC will have to pay around £10million in compensation to Leicester for Maresca, but that will surely be seen as money worth paying for the west London giants as they look to find the ideal candidate for their long-term project.

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Maresca might not be the biggest name in football management, but he’s previously impressed with Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, as well as working as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants at the Etihad Stadium.

The 44-year-old also did good work with Leicester to guide them back to the top flight with an attractive brand of attacking football, so he could be perfect to get Chelsea playing the way these ambitious owners will want.

There were some positive signs towards the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign, but overall it perhaps didn’t seem like the Argentine was quite on the same wavelength as Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

Maresca is a gamble as he’s nowhere near as experienced as Pochettino, but that doesn’t necessarily seem to be the key criteria for Chelsea’s owners.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank was seemingly also considered by Chelsea this summer, while he also came up as a candidate for Manchester United and Bayern Munich.