Could Chelsea derail Enzo Maresca to Manchester City move?

An era is set to come to an end in the Premier League at the weekend. Pep Guardiola is going to leave Manchester City after a decade in the job. Rival or not, you cannot deny what he has achieved at the club. His team have dominated what should have been the most competitive era in English football. He will arguably go down as the greatest manager ever. Now, the Citizens will look to replace him. And Chelsea might still have a say in that.

It has been widely suggested that Enzo Maresca will be the one replacing Guardiola this summer. Of course, he was part of his coaching team before embarking on his own journey, which led him to Leicester City and then Chelsea.

Now, he could be set to replace the man he based his coaching career around. But there might still be a few details to iron out with Chelsea before that happens.

According to The Guardian, Manchester City are understood to have agreed a three-year deal in principle with Maresca already but there are still matters to tie up relating to his Stamford Bridge exit earlier this season. He had several three-and-a-half years left on his contract at that point. So, Chelsea are in position to seek compensation. The number has been kept confidential but is unlikely to be small.

Chelsea did not sack Enzo Maresca

For a long time, it had been believed that Chelsea were the ones to sack Maresca over disagreements behind the scenes. But now, it looks like the Italian was the one who walked out.

One has to wonder if that was done with the Manchester City job already in mind. The report further states that the Italian had informed Chelsea that he had twice held talks with people about replacing Guardiola.

It has been claimed that BlueCo did not plan to make a managerial change in the middle of the season, which would be in line with how they have always looked at the situation unless it became absolutely necessary, as had been the case with Graham Potter and Liam Rosenior. Let’s also not forget, Maresca’s exit did derail the Blues’ campaign. They have missed on Champions League football and are set to finish the campaign without a trophy as well, incidentally losing the FA Cup final to Guardiola’s Manchester City side.

Is Maresca capable of replacing Guardiola?

If Manchester City are convinced about Maresca being the one to replace Guardiola, one would imagine that the compensation is not going to be an issue. It is a situation worth keeping an eye on. It remains to be seen what that figure turns out to be, if or when agreed upon.

Then there is the matter of Maresca being able to replace Guardiola, arguably the best manager ever. Those are big shoes to fill, that is for sure.

Just look at how things have gone for Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson left. Could things end up similarly for City? It is not as likely, as they do have a structure in place to continue on this path, even after Guardiola’s exit.

Whether Maresca is capable of replacing Guardiola or not is a different discussion altogether. Yes, he did a good job at Chelsea. But then, he is not someone who has proven himself to be a Premier League contender or a Champions League-level manager. And that is what the City fans will be expecting.