Enzo Maresca is on the verge of leaving Chelsea after his relationship with the club completely broke down. The situation surrounding the head coach has been unpredictable for several weeks and it is very likely that the two are expected to part ways on Thursday.
Chelsea are set to start the new year by holding emergency talks over Maresca’s situation. It is expected that the Italian, who was booed by supporters during Tuesday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, will not be in charge for Sunday’s visit of Manchester City. Sources have indicated that Maresca wants to leave the club but it is unclear whether he is willing to leave the club without any payment. His contract runs until 2029, including the option of an additional year.
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Chelsea, who have won one of their last seven league games, have had their patience tested by Maresca’s decisions during games but, more importantly, by his conduct away from the pitch. Uncertainty arose when the former Leicester manager, whose team has dropped 15 points from a winless position in the league this season, made cryptic comments about his “worst 48 hours” experience at the club following the win over Everton on 13 December.
This is considered to be the first of many self-inflicted wounds. Those comments stunned Chelsea and have put a strain on Maresca’s relationship with its owners. It hasn’t helped that the Italian has repeatedly refused to explain what he meant when he said “many people” were not supporting him before the Everton game. Whispers about problems behind the scenes have inevitably grown louder.
Maresca created further tension by saying he was feeling too unwell to hold a press conference after the Bournemouth game. Club insiders were surprised when Maresca’s assistant Willy Caballero spoke to the media. Caballero said the manager had been under the weather for two days, but on Wednesday night there were claims that Maresca had indeed made it clear he did not want to perform his normal press duties. It was said that he was considering his options after becoming dissatisfied with elements of the Chelsea project.
The club has adopted a neutral stance regarding the instability and is expected to respond. They were willing to give Maresca time to reverse his team’s decline, although with the caveat that he would be lucky to survive beyond January if the team’s poor form continued. However, now there is hope that the matter will be resolved sooner rather than later.
The pace of development has been extraordinary but Chelsea have contingency plans. One solution would be for them to turn to Liam Rosenior, the Strasbourg manager who has long been seen as a potential successor to Maresca. Strasbourg is a partner club of Chelsea and Rosenior has impressed for the Ligue 1 team. Much will depend on the quality of replacements Strasbourg will be able to recruit now.
If Maresca leaves then Chelsea will be looking for their fifth permanent manager since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022. They are reluctant to make mid-season managerial changes. The memory of the sackings of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter during the chaotic first season of ownership remains prominent. The board’s priority was until the end of the season before reviewing Maresca’s situation.
Maresca were in a relatively strong position in late November when Chelsea beat Barcelona 3–0 in the Champions League and held Arsenal to a 1–1 draw. But attitudes changed during a troubled December. Maresca’s substitutions and tactics during defeats to Leeds, Atalanta and Aston Villa came under scrutiny, while his behavior has created internal tension.
It feels like Maresca has gotten himself into unnecessary trouble with his “worst 48 hours” comments. Maresca is being seen as a possible candidate for Manchester City if Pep Guardiola leaves at the end of the season. There have been suggestions that he wants more power and a greater say over contracts at Chelsea, but he is unwilling to change the structure in which he has built an extensive recruitment team and focused on signing some of the best young talent in the game. Chelsea rejected the idea that Maresca was given instructions on team selection.
Chelsea has to play nine matches this month. A tough run includes five league games, an FA Cup third-round tie against Charlton, the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal and Champions League group games against Paphos and Napoli.
Chelsea showed the courage to replace Mauricio Pochettino with Maresca 18 months ago. Last season, Maresca qualified for the Champions League and won the Conference League and the Club World Cup. Chelsea has supported him through difficult times in the past. They have no problem with his rotation as it is simply club policy. Still, there is a limit to his patience.
There is an acknowledgment that Maresca had to make do without Levi Colville and Cole Palmer for most of his second season. However, it was not encouraging when fans reacted to Maresca replacing Palmer against Bournemouth, shouting: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”