Chelsea agreed to pay Leicester City a compensation fee to bring coach Enzo Maresca to Stamford Bridge to replace Mauricio Pochettino.
According to news expert Fabrizio Romano, the agreement between Chelsea and Leicester has been finalized. Mr. Maresca still has two years on his contract with Leicester, so Chelsea must pay a compensation fee of around 10 million pounds (13 million USD). The two sides intend to finish paperwork this week.
Coach Enzo Maresca will lead Leicester City in the English first division during the 2023-2024 season. Photograph: PA.
The 44-year-old coach will sign a five-year contract with Chelsea until the summer of 2029, with the option to extend for an additional year. Before pursuing Maresca, joint sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley considered Kieran McKenna and Thomas Frank but were unable to reach an agreement.
Maresca was a midfielder who played for Italian youth teams but did not make the national team. He began his career in England, playing first-division football for West Brom, before moving on to Juventus, Sevilla, and Olympiakos. Maresca won the Scudetto in 2002, and the UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007.
After retiring in the summer of 2017, Maresca served as assistant coach for Ascoli in Serie B before being appointed by Manchester City to lead the U21 team. After an unsuccessful season leading Parma in 2021-2022, the Italian coach returned to Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, replacing Juanma Lillo. Leicester appointed Maresca as head coach last summer, and he helped the team win the first division title, allowing them to return to the Premier League.
However, Chelsea ‘s decision was controversial, as Maresca had only been head coach for 67 matches, with a 60% win rate. His achievements at Leicester are not particularly impressive, as the former Premier League king has a strong squad compared to the first division.
The five-year contract with Maresca is also surprising, given that Chelsea has worked with five coaches in the last three years, including Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor, Frank Lampard, and Pochettino. When a coach has a long-term contract, the team will spend more money to fire him if his performance declines.