Chelsea are progressing towards appointing Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca as the successor to Mauricio Pochettino, with discussions intensifying over the weekend.
Despite having achieved promotion to the Premier League with Leicester last season, Maresca is reportedly open to the opportunity of joining Chelsea.
Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Chelsea had started conducting formal interviews with several candidates.
Multiple sources indicate that Maresca has emerged as the leading contender to replace Pochettino, who departed the club last week.
Initially, Kieran McKenna was also in the running for the Chelsea job. However, Brighton is attempting to appoint him as Roberto De Zerbi's successor.
Chelsea contacted the Ipswich head coach last night to inform him that he had been close to reaching the final stage of their search but ultimately did not make it.
The Blues continue to hold McKenna in high regard, particularly for his achievement of back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town.
McKenna is also attracting interest from Manchester United, who are considering parting ways with Erik ten Hag following an end-of-season review.
Thomas Frank, the current head coach of Brentford, is another candidate Chelsea have considered.
Other names in the mix included Roberto De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim.
However, Chelsea's preference for a young, progressive head coach capable of growing with the team has put Maresca, who has experience working under Pep Guardiola, at the forefront of their selection process.
Enzo Maresca age, nationality, clubs managed
Enzo Maresca, 44-year-old, is an Italian football coach.
In 2022, he worked under Pep Guardiola as one of his assistants replacing Juanma Lilo who became the head coach of Al Sadd. Enzo Maresca, however, moved to England after a brief stint with Italian side Parma.
In June 2023, he was appointed as Leicester City gaffer leading them to a promotion back to the Premier League.
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