Chelsea are moving towards appointing Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor with the hope a deal can be concluded in the next 72 hours.
Preliminary talks over appointing the Italian accelerated over the weekend and Chelsea have sought formal permission from the Foxes to hold formal discussions with Maresca with a view to appointing him new boss.
Leicester are due in the region of £10million in compensation should Maresca join Chelsea.
Once those formalities are completed, Chelsea are aiming to have the appointment wrapped up by the middle of the week.
Mail Sport understands Maresca is keen to bring up to five members of staff with him. The Italian’s No 2 Willy Caballero, a former Chelsea goalkeeper, is expected to be among the coaches Maresca brings with him.
Enzo Maresca (pictured) is Chelsea’s frontrunner to take over from Mauricio Pochettino
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was one of the candidates under consideration, but has since fallen out of the race
Maresca is in line for a significant pay rise, but his wage at Chelsea is likely to be less than Pochettino’s reported £10.4million salary.
But once all financial packages are agreed, Maresca’s appointment is expected to run smoothly with the 44-year-old fully open to taking over at Stamford Bridge with multiple sources indicating Maresca is the club’s leading contender to replace Pochettino.
It is understood Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, impressed during talks with the club but Chelsea informed the Northern Irishman that he was no longer in the running on Sunday night after deciding to press ahead with Maresca.
Brighton have also shown a serious interest in appointing McKenna as Roberto De Zerbi’s replacement, but the Amex Stadium club are also exploring other options.
Former boss Graham Potter is among those under consideration for Brighton after it emerged McKenna is set to sign a new contract at Ipswich.
Thomas Frank, head coach at Brentford, is another contender for the Chelsea job. Frank has also held talks with Manchester United, who are reviewing Erik ten Hag’s position as head coach.
De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim were among the other managers the Blues are understood to have considered during the process.
But the club’s desire to appoint a young, progressive head coach that can grow with the team has seen Maresca, who worked under Pep Guardiola, has emerged as a key factor in Chelsea’s decision to move forward with he highly-rated Italian.
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