Chelsea hold talks for first Enzo Maresca signing in 2.1m-a-year giant

Chelsea have held talks over signing a potential first signing for incoming new manager Enzo Maresca, with the board already getting prepared to back him.

Maresca reaches agreement to join Chelsea

After guiding Leicester City to Premier League promotion last season, winning the Championship in pole position, it is reliably believed that the former Man City backroom coach is now on the verge of replacing Mauricio Pochettino.

Talks have been held and the likes of reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano have reported that Maresca wants to join Chelsea in the next few days. The 44-year-old, an understudy of Pep Guardiola, is also now Chelsea’s unanimously preferred managerial candidate behind-the-scenes (Ben Jacobs) – with Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna out of the running and likely to remain at Portman Road (David Ornstein).

With Maresca already green-lighting a move to Stamford Bridge, the only obstacle in Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s way right now is compensation with Leicester. Chelsea and the Foxes are currently in negotiations over the financial package to release Maresca from his King Power duties and grant the Italian a move to west London.

Journalist Ben Jacobs, sharing detail on why Chelsea opted for Maresca, claimed that co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley were left impressed with the tactician’s squad knowledge and viewed him as the standout candidate after conducting interviews.

“Chelsea like Maresca’s fit with their model and have been really impressed by his squad knowledge,” wrote Jacobs on X.

“Both sporting director, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley viewed him as the standout candidate. And the fact he’s learned off Pep, obviously another bonus.”

It’s looking extremely likely that Chelsea finalise the appointment of Maresca soon, as their search for a Pochettino replacement reaches a swift conclusion – coming after they parted company with the Argentine this time last week.

Attention now turns to the transfer market, and how Chelsea will back their prospective new manager. The Blues need a successor for veteran defender Thiago Silva, who waved goodbye to supporters on the final day of the season and has joined Fluminese following the expiry of his Chelsea contract.

Chelsea hold talks with Tosin Adarabioyo over joining

Now, according to inews and journalist Mark Douglas, Silva’s heir could well be 6 foot 5 Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo.

The £2.1 million-per-year giant is free to leave Craven Cottage for nothing on June 30 when his contract expires, and it is believed Chelsea have held talks with Tosin over joining the club on a Bosman deal.

The 26-year-old was a key player under Marco Silva at Fulham over the second half of 2023/24, and could be a pretty astute signing at zero cost if they beat the likes of Newcastle and Man United to his signature.