Chelsea fans will love what Pep Guardiola said about Enzo Maresca as he prepares for a new job.
New Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was previously regarded as one of the best managers in football.
talkSPORT understands the Blues are close to announce The Italian will join as the new coach from Leicester City, where he has been since 2023.
maresca He previously managed Manchester City's elite development team and won the Premier League 2 title with them in 2021.
He was then Guardiola's assistant in City's treble-winning 2022/23 season, and it's clear his boss has high hopes for his future.
In 2021, Guardiola predicted Maresca's path to success, which will be music to the ears of disappointed Chelsea fans.
“We are delighted that Enzo Maresca has done the whole organization with EDS,” he said at a press conference in 2021. “He showed that he will become an extraordinary coach in the future.
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“Extraordinary, I feel it like I felt it when I saw Mikel Arteta, the same goes for Enzo. He will be an extraordinary coach, he helped develop many, many young players.”
Maresca followed up his success at City by winning the Championship in his first season at Leicester to take them back to the Premier League.
He is now set to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea, and will do so by signing a minimum five-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
He has already worked with two Blues stars, Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia, both previous stars in City's youth ranks.
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Palmer scored 13 goals and assisted six more with Maresca, and Lavia featured 17 times when he trained in Manchester.
While the 44-year-old has proven to be a success at Leicester, the job at Chelsea will present an entirely different challenge.
The Blues are still searching for their first trophy since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over in 2022.
Chelsea came close to victory this season but lost in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool before City eliminated them from the FA Cup semi-finals.
Next season will see them compete in the Europa Conference League thanks to their sixth place finish in the league, meaning more titles are up for grabs.
Maresca will arrive as a bold appointment from Chelsea, but if Guardiola's prediction is anything to go by, then he could become a huge success in the coming years.
