Chelsea
have appointed Enzo Maresca as their new head coach.
The 44-year-old, who succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge, moves
from Leicester after leading them back to the Premier League by winning the
Championship.
Maresca has signed a five-year deal - with the option for a further 12
months - at Stamford Bridge and was Chelsea's No 1 choice from a shortlist
including Brentford's Thomas Frank, Ipswich's Kieran McKenna and Roberto De
Zerbi, who left Brighton at the end of the season.
A statement from Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea's co-sporting
directors, said: "We are delighted to welcome Enzo to Chelsea. He has proven
himself to be an excellent coach capable of delivering impressive results
with an exciting and identifiable style.
"Enzo has deeply impressed us in our discussions leading up to his
appointment. His ambitions and work ethic align with those of the club. We
thoroughly look forward to working with him."
Maresca said: "To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a
dream for any coach. It is why I am so excited by this opportunity.
"I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff
to develop a team that continues the club's tradition of success and makes
our fans proud."
Chelsea are understood to have paid between £8m and £10m to release Maresca
from his Leicester contract.
Willy Caballero, Danny Walker, Michele De Bernardin, Marcos Alvarez, Javi
Molina and Roberto Vitiello join Maresca at Chelsea having also worked with
him at Leicester.
Chelsea have also confirmed the arrival of Bernardo Cueva from Brentford as
the lead of their set-piece department.
The process to appoint Maresca was led by Winstanley and Stewart, who held
face-to-face talks with the head coach in Marbella last week.
Chelsea were understood to be impressed by Maresca's "champions mentality"
and the depth of the Italian's knowledge about their squad in talks with his
representatives, as well as his focus on the way the team want to play and
his desire for the job.
Maresca's obsession with possession and positional play made him the leading
candidate to replace Pochettino, who left by mutual consent just two days
after guiding Chelsea to a sixth-place Premier League finish.
The length of Maresca's contract reflects that Chelsea are focused on
bringing long-term success back to the club, with senior figures at the club
believing he will be the final piece of the jigsaw to fit into the new,
modern structure they have built.
Chelsea expect to be busy in the transfer market this summer, with players
coming and going. Trading is likely to see the signing of a new No 9 and
centre-back, while the futures of high-earners such as Romelu Lukaku and
Kepa Arrizabalaga need to be resolved.
'Chelsea feel Maresca is the one for them'
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
"Chelsea have had a very thorough process with Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank
and Roberto De Zerbi all considered, but they feel Maresca is the one for
them.
"The others were all very impressive candidates, but Chelsea feel at this
moment in time that Maresca is the man for them and he shares their vision
for the future.
"He's only been a manager for one-and-a-half seasons. He was a manager at
Parma in the Italian second division and then he got the Leicester job.
"There have been some issues behind the scenes and not all Leicester fans
have been completely happy with him, even though he got them promotion back
to the Premier League.
"There were problems about recruitment and problems around the fact that
Leicester have been charged for allegedly breaking PSR (Profitability and
Sustainability Rules). They're also under a transfer embargo from the EFL.
"There have been issues but Chelsea just want a head coach. They want
somebody who is going to coach the first-team squad and deal with the media.
Everything else, they feel they have in place.
"You have to remember that Mikel Arteta didn't have any prior experience of
having managed in the Premier League before joining Arsenal but he had
worked under Pep Guardiola, which is exactly the same as Maresca.
"I'm not saying he's a better manager than Arteta but he has more experience
than he did when he took over at Arsenal.
"Don't underestimate the Pep effect. If you've worked under Guardiola,
you've got a head-start when going for these sorts of jobs. However, you
still have to impress, which Maresca has done during these talks.
"I've been told that his knowledge of the Chelsea squad, including the youth
team players, is encyclopaedic."
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