Maresca Out: Chelsea’s New Year Managerial Move

Early in the New Year, the footballing world was greeted with the shock departure of Enzo Maresca from Chelsea.

The Italian’s time as the manager of the Blues came to an end following a poor run of form in December, which involved only one win in seven Premier League games and left the club at 5th place. This was a sharp contrast to just last month, when Maresca won EPL Manager of the Month as Chelsea went unbeaten, appearing to be a potential title contender to league leaders Arsenal.

Maresca attempted to leverage interest from clubs

Sources suggest that the reason for this sacking did not have much to do with the team’s exploits on the field, but instead, a breakdown of the relationship between the 45-year-old and the Chelsea hierarchy. Last month, during the week prior to their 2-0 win against Everton, Maresca stated that he had experienced the worst “48 hours” of his time at the club but refused to make any further comment, leaving fans wondering. His staff apparently were also taken by surprise.

Over the past few days, however, it is understood that Maresca attempted to leverage interest from clubs such as Juventus and Manchester City, where he served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant in the 2022/23 season, to negotiate a new deal despite having a contract until 2029. Chelsea, uninterested in the request, did not proceed with further talks, leading to Maresca’s eventual exit.

41-year-old Liam Rosenior appears to be the leading candidate to replace him. Although sacked by Championship side Hull City about a year and a half ago, the Englishman has impressed at Strasbourg, with the club currently sitting 7th in the French League. The team is also part of the BlueCo group that owns Chelsea.

The ex-Brighton player, however, has only made cryptic comments so far. When asked about the rumours of being in contact with Chelsea in the pre-match conference against Nice, he replied:

There are discussions because we’re part of the same group

– Liam Rosenior

He also mentioned, “I don’t want to guarantee how long I’ll be here […] I could say I’m going to stay here for years and then get fired.”

But with other candidates such as Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner and ex-Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas seeming to be out of the running, Rosenior’s appointment might just be a formality away. Pundits are optimistic that this could also be a good deal, since his success with Strasbourg is built on a team of youngsters, which perfectly fits the bill for a club whose oldest player is Tosin Adarabioyo at 28 years old.

Nevertheless, whoever is appointed, they will have big shoes to fill, as in spite of Maresca’s short tenure, he managed to rack up two trophies in a UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup, beating current Champions League winners PSG 3-0 in a dominant showing.

*Chelsea have since appointed Liam Rosenior as manager on a deal until 2032.