Enzo Maresca was the first and unanimous choice among Chelsea’s decision makers.

Sporting
directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have been working 17-hour days
leading up to this appointment of Maresca, who also worked under Pep Guardiola
at Manchester City and managed Italian club Parma, alongside influential
co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali.

They were the three main parties who have opted to appoint Maresca in place of Mauricio Pochettino. He was selected from a four-man shortlist, including newly promoted Ipswich manager
Kieran McKenna, former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and Brentford’s Thomas
Frank.

The
44-year-old Italian is believed to be a good fit for Chelsea’s model, a highly
data driven and sports science approach, in which the various departments at the
club have input.

The club is
moving away from a manager-led recruitment process, leaving the manager to
focus on football, which was at times was point of friction between former
manager Mauricio Pochettino and the ownership.

Maresca is
comfortable working in this structure and excited to focus on improving players
and preparing for matches with strong resources.

He has already asked the data department for profiles on every player, including academy stars, and even key club staff, as he looks to get a head start ahead of his official start date on 1 July.

It’s a sign of the excitement among the new coaching staff to work with this squad as they look to add a striker and, potentially, a further defender, as Chelsea close in on a move for Tosin Adarabioyo.

Maresca is expected to take several academy players in preseason, including Tyrique
George and Josh Acheampong, with some senior players expected back late from
international duty at Euro 2024 and Copa America.

Chelsea are excited to see how Maresca’s tactical approach will work with their group of players, and believe that his association
with Guardiola, widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the world, is a
major positive.