How Chelsea could line up under Enzo Maresca as the manager targets Man City, Leicester and Napoli to create a new team

CHELSEA could look very different under new coach Enzo Maresca.

The 44-year-old Italian, who won the league with Leicester this season, is poised to become Mauricio Pochettino’s successor.

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And his arrival could mean a new era at Stamford Bridge through many new faces.

Chelsea have already spent more than £1 billion in the two years since Todd Boehly took over the club from Roman Abramovich.

But a third head coaching change will likely trigger some pros and cons for the team.

And Chelsea have already been linked with a number of names ahead of the summer transfer window.

SunSport exclusively revealed last week that Chelsea are ready to make a surprise £20m bid for Burnley and England goalkeeper James Trafford – who was under contract at Manchester City until last summer.

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is another top target for the Blues as he continues to be linked with a move to the Premier League.

Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo is also receiving interest from Chelsea.

But Maresca can leave his mark on transfers outside of those the club already intends.

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Leicester fans won’t miss Maresca

By Graeme Bryce

It’s fair to say that the majority of Leicester fans weren’t exactly begging for Maresca to stay.

OK, they weren’t queuing and offering to take you to Stamford Bridge.

But there won’t be many tears shed or many lamentations against King Power either.

The fans’ attitude to losing their incredibly successful boss could be summed up in one word: ‘Meh’.

Maresca failed to win over the paying public, who never liked his patient, possession-based style of football.

Having been raised – some would say spoiled – by the 2016 title-winning swashbucklers, with Jamie Vardy leading coach Claudio Ranieri’s shock champions, Maresca never took off at the King Power.

So it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s notoriously impatient fans think of Maresca’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’ style of play.

It wasn’t long before some of Leicester’s old school fans started complaining that Maresca’s patient, style of play was becoming too boring to watch.

During the 3-1 victory over Swansea, which left them ten points clear at the top, there were groans and groans coming from the stands amid chants of ‘Take the ball forward’.

Fans accused him of stubbornly following his Plan A – even when it wasn’t working – and claimed he was too slow to make substitutions.

But one thing Blues fans can look forward to is his human management and attention to detail.

And the Foxes players loved their coach too.

Manchester City and England’s Rico Lewis could well be an acquisition he targets following the success of Cole Palmer.

Maresca coached Lewis during his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad.

And Lewis could look to former Man City Palmer’s rise at Stamford Bridge – 27 goals in 48 games in his first season – as a model for what he could also achieve at the club.

Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another who Maresca could look to bring to Chelsea after an excellent campaign at the King Power Stadium.

But the talented playmaker, who was linked to Brighton in the January window, is expected to cost at least £35m.

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