“They asked me, ‘Do we still have time?’” - Enzo Maresca says another Premier League club wanted to appoint him before he joined Chelsea
New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed that another Premier League club attempted to sign him before he agreed a deal with the Blues. The Italian coach was seemingly looking to move on from Leicester after guiding the Foxes to Premier League promotion last year.
He managed to win the Championship last season with Leicester City, finishing with 97 points on the board. However, Maresca wasn't the only option at Stamford Bridge, with the west Londoners also linked with the likes of Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna.
In fact, Maresca himself had a couple of options as well, with the manager revealing another English top-flight team's interest in him. Speaking to the media, he said (via GOAL):
"They asked me, 'Do we still have time or is it too late?' But by then I was already taking my decision."
Chelsea were looking for a manager in the summer after parting ways with Mauricio Pochettino, who was only in charge for a season. The Argentine tactician joined the club in the summer of 2023 and could only manage a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
This was after the Blues spent big to bring in the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, and Christopher Nkunku, among others. Maresca will now be tasked with bringing Chelsea back into the Champions League places.
They play their next pre-season friendly against Manchester City on Saturday (August 3). Funnily enough, Maresca and Co. will kickstart their league season with a game against the Cityzens on August 18.
Carlo Ancelotti delivers verdict on how Enzo Maresca will perform at Chelsea
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, has predicted Enzo Maresca to succeed at Chelsea, given the experience and knowledge the latter boasts in his career thus far.
Before serving as Leicester City boss, Maresca worked under Pep Guardiola as the Spaniard's assistant at Manchester City. Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Ancelotti said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):
"Experience is the most important part of our job; it's part of our job, but of course, the most important part is knowledge. And the fact that he has experience with Guardiola and with Leicester, I think he has the knowledge to manage and do well."
Most recently, Maresca picked up his first win (3-0) as the Blues head coach in a pre-season friendly against a Mexican outfit, Club America, on Wednesday (July 31).