A cult figure could be on his way back to Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)
A very familiar face could be about to return to Chelsea if the west London club can agree a deal with Leicester City for head coach Enzo Maresca.
The Blues have been looking for a new manager since parting company with Mauricio Pochettino at the start of last week and appear to have settled on their preferred candidate.
After a rigorous and swift search, Chelsea have ruled out the likes of Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Brentford’s Thomas Frank and are now looking to wrap up a deal for Maresca.
The Italian, who was previously Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, ticks all the boxes they are looking for in a young, progressive head coach.
He guided Leicester to 97 points and the Championship title after overhauling the team’s style of play, bringing a Guardiola-esque, possession-based brand of football to the King Power Stadium.
Maresca is believed to have given the green light to a move to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea now need to agree a compensation package with Leicester.
Following their promotion to the Premier League, a release clause in his contract increased to around £10million but Chelsea will try to avoid paying that fee in full while they will also need to secure deals for Maresca’s coaching staff – including one former player.
Maresca will almost certainly be joined at Chelsea by his assistant manager, Willy Caballero, who, of course, spent four seasons at the west London club.
Caballero, third right, with the rest of Leicester’s coaching staff (Picture: Getty)
The Argentine shot-stopper arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017 on a free transfer from Manchester City and was tasked with providing cover to Thibaut Courtois during Antonio Conte’s second season at the club.
Caballero was Chelsea’s FA Cup goalkeeper that season, winning a penalty shootout for his side against Norwich City in the third round, but was dropped in the final against Manchester United – which the Blues won.
He was also part of the squads that won the Champions League and Europa League and became something of a cult figure during his time at the club, particularly after an injured Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to come off for him in the Carabao Cup final.
Caballero has moved into coaching after retiring in 2023 (Picture: Getty)
More Trending
The veteran goalkeeper never made more than five Premier League appearances in any of his four seasons with Chelsea before spending two seasons at Southampton to finish his career.
In the summer of 2023, shortly after hanging up his gloves, he was appointed to Maresca’s coaching staff as assistant manager – not, interestingly, goalkeeper coach.
Caballero played a prominent role during the season and was often seen deep in discussion with Maresca in the dugout, alongside first-team coach Danny Walker – who is also expected to make the move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are hopeful of wrapping up negotiations for Maresca and his backroom staff quickly and a deal could be confirmed by the end of this week.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.