THIAGO SILVA tops the list of Chelsea players who left the club before Enzo Maresca’s arrival.
Before Mauricio Pochettino’s departure, the Brazilian legend confirmed he would spend time in west London after four years with the Blues.
Silva, who will return to Fluminense as a free agent, joins Josh Brooking and Noah Hay in leaving Chelsea.
Despite retaining most of his squad, new Blues boss Maresca will face departures this summer.
The futures of centre-backs Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher remain in doubt as Chelsea look to balance their books.
Chalobah has been linked with the likes of Manchester United and the Blues are closing in on signing Tosin Adarabioyo, a free agent from Fulham.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are believed to be interested in keeping Gallagher, but Aston Villa have opened talks to sign him.
Chelsea begin life under their new manager against League Two Wimbledon in July.
The two clubs hosted a pre-season friendly at The Dons’ Plow Lane ground in south-west London.
Relations between the two neighbors remain close after Chelsea’s women’s team moved to Wimbledon’s former Kingsmeadow Stadium in 2020.
Meet Pep Guardiola’s disciple, Enzo Maresca
ENZO MARESCA is considered one of the most exciting young coaches on the planet.
Born in Italy in 1980, he managed to guide Leicester to the Championship title in his first season as Foxes manager.
His management career began at Italian minnows Ascoli, before being signed by Man City in 2020 to manage their Elite Development Squad.
He guided the youth team to the Premier League 2 title in his only season working for the Citizens – with Cole Palmer in the team.
His first senior job was at Parma, but he was sacked just months later after failing to impress.
Despite the team playing in Serie B and Maresca having an impressive squad, he was unable to take them on the path to promotion.
He returned to Man City and worked as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants in the 2022/23 season in the Treble victory.
He took over at relegated Leicester last summer and made an immediate impact as the Foxes won the Championship title.
Maresca showed his dedication to his job by living at the training camp for the first two months after his appointment.
He is considered something of a disciple of Pep and said: “For a coach, it is important to have the mentality of a chess player.”
During his playing career he played with Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi – and alongside former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
The Premier League team also embarks on a five-match tour of the United States between July 24 and 26.
They will face Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Manchester City and Real Madrid on the tour.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
