Enzo Maresca has been unveiled as the new Chelsea manager ending the hunt for Mauricio Pochettino’s successor. The Argentine departed by mutual consent a matter of months shy of his one-year anniversary at Stamford Bridge.
The Argentine helped the Blues qualify for the Europa Conference League after a late season surge saw them scrape their way into the final European place. Chelsea won five out of their last sixth to cement sixth place ahead of Newcastle United while Manchester United booked their spot in the Europa League after their surprise FA Cup win over Manchester City.
Pochettino’s exit came as a surprise, despite the ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss facing intense scrutiny throughout his tenure in West London. As a result, Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank and Thomas Tuchel were linked as successors, while they held talks with Kieran McKenna.
The Ipswich Town boss led the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions which ended their 22-year hiatus from the English top-flight. However, the Northern Irish tactician turned down the opportunity and signed a lucrative new deal at Portman Road.
Maresca was installed as favourite soon after and a report in The Athletic has claimed that Chelsea paid in the region of £10million to Leicester City in order to bring the Italian to Stamford Bridge.
Maresca has signed a five-year contract in the capital, becoming the fifth manager since the Todd Boehly-led consortium took over Chelsea. After leaving Man City’s backroom staff for the managerial role at the King Power Stadium, the 44-year-old led the Foxes back to the Premier League after winning the Championship.