English club give Chelsea permission to speak to manager with five-year deal to be offered

Chelsea are closing in on appointing a new manager ahead of the 2024/25 campaign as Leicester City have given the Blues permission to speak with Enzo Maresca.

The West London club parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino last week after an underwhelming season at Stamford Bridge, while they also disagreed on how the Premier League club should move going forward.

That has led to many names being linked to the manager’s role at Chelsea over the last week but it seems that the Blues’ hierarchy have settled on Maresca.

According to The Athletic, Leicester have given the London outfit permission to speak to their manager as the Premier League giants made an official approach to the Foxes on Monday.

The 44-year-old is set to be offered a contract spanning a minimum of five years having guided Leicester City to Championship glory this season. A big attraction for Chelsea will be the fact that Maresca has worked under Pep Guardiola, who many consider the greatest football coach of all time.

Chelsea are closing in on Enzo Maresca

Enzo Maresca is a big risk for Chelsea

Maresca has had a very successful season with Leicester City but Chelsea appointing the 44-year-old as their new coach is a big risk. The Italian is yet to manage at the highest level of the sport and many will feel that the job at the Premier League giants is coming too soon.

The London club have gone through a lot of managers since their takeover in 2022 and fans of the club will have very little confidence that they have got this appointment right.

Next season should be very interesting for Chelsea as a fairly inexperienced manager will have to find a way to get a young squad to gel together.