Chelsea’s imminent new head coach, Enzo Maresca, will be faced with a number of squad issues when he is eventually appointed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor.
If Chelsea get their own way, Maresca will commit to a five-year contract in their next attempt at long-term stability. After just one full season in management, the 44-year-old will arrive in west London on the back of a successful campaign at Leicester.
Having been appointed by the Foxes following their relegation, Maresca led the club back to the Premier League in style with an unusual possession-based style of play. After a brief blip towards the end of the season, Leicester were by far the league’s best team under the Italian.
The Premier League, in its own way, is a whole new kettle of fish for Maresca. Managing Chelsea with a billion-pound squad puts even more pressure on his head to deliver success. And as Graham Potter and Pochettino have discovered, there’s no rest for poor standards.
If Maresca is going to enjoy his time at Chelsea and help steady the trembling ship, the upcoming transfer window is going to be vital. A new goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfielder, and striker are all expected to be improved in the window, but due to the club’s tightrope with FFP, they simply have to be smart in their dealings.
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One avenue we could see Maresca and Chelsea go down is the Leicester City squad. Now in the top-flight, the Foxes face selling one or more of their better players to ensure they raise funds and avoid further PSR breaches.
Of course, the standard in the team won’t be of the same level at Stamford Bridge. However, two players in particular could be of interest for a number of reasons. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is by the club’s best asset, and he’s been tipped to be sold before June 30’s PSR deadline.
Brighton and Arsenal were linked with him in January, but Chelsea could do much worse by signing a player with a brilliant record in Maresca’s system. The English midfielder played the No.8 attacking midfielder role very well last term and has made his public feelings known on Maresca countless times.
Perhaps a more surprising name that we could see mentioned is goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. Signed from Brondby last summer, Hermansen was Maresca’s first-choice goalkeeper last season and his passing statistics explain why. He completed 1846 of his 2188 passes (84.4%) – including a sensational 99.5% pass succession rate with short passes.
As many fans who have researched Maresca and his ideology know, the goalkeeper plays a key part in the build-up. A ball-playing individual is required to receive the ball from the defender and have a strong understanding of creating passing options.