Manchester City are considering appointing Enzo Maresca to replace Josep Guardiola, but the club will need to secure a remuneration package with Chelsea, who sacked him earlier this year.
Enzo Maresca to leave Chelsea in January to become Man City’s new manager (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City remain confident of reaching an agreement with Chelsea to sign Enzo Maresca.
The Italian is set to be named as manager Josep Guardiola’s replacement, but compensation still needs to be agreed with Chelsea after Maresca left the club in difficult circumstances in January.
The 46-year-old wants the job and Chelsea were informed by Maresca himself last autumn that his trophy-laden spell was over and he was attracting interest from Etihad officials to eventually replace Guardiola, which is said to have played a role in his departure from Stamford Bridge.
Sky Sports understands that negotiations are ongoing between City and Chelsea, with lawyers currently working out the final details. An agreement is expected to be finalized this week.
Maresca is well known to those on Manchester’s blue side, having been Guardiola’s assistant during City’s treble-winning season in 2022/23 and previously playing a key role in the club’s academy before joining the first team.
Maresca left City to take his first solo job at Leicester in 2023, leading Leicester to the Championship title on his first try. These achievements earned him the job at Chelsea, where he delivered Champions League football and two trophies, but his former mentor insists it deserves more praise.
Guardiola previously said: “I know Enzo Maresca very well, one of the best managers in the world, but his achievements at Chelsea have not been given enough credit. To win the Club World Cup, the Conference League and qualify for the Champions League in a very difficult league for a young team is extraordinary.”
Enzo Maresca previously worked under Pep Guardiola at Man City (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Guardiola left City as the greatest manager in history and was beginning a transition for the team. That means whoever takes over from Guardiola will have a team equipped to win silver medals and challenge for titles. In the past 12 months, they have signed Rayan Cherki, Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo.
In his farewell speech, Guardiola said he would contact his successor and urge him to follow his ideas. “If the club tells me which one, of course I will call him! And I will tell him: “Be yourself, the club will support you unconditionally – that is the biggest compliment – and be yourself.”
“‘When things go wrong, you’ll be protected better than at any other club, and if you go there with an open mind and work hard, everything will be fine!'”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
