Championship shopping over Champions League

Chelsea manager contender Enzo Maresca excelled with Leicester but his lack of top-flight experience is a big risk

- RICHARD JOLLY

There was a time when the qualifications required to manage Chelsea seemed to entail winning the Champions League, not the Championship. There is a history of Italian managers at Stamford Bridge but they used to arrive having taken charge of more games against Roma than Rotherham, Inter than Ipswich, Milan than Millwall.

But perhaps Enzo Maresca is the most appropriate soon-to-be-confirmed appointment for the new Chelsea: many of their signings have been punts on potential, based on very little experience of first-team football at high levels but with the assumption they have a high ceiling. Enter a manager with a similar rawness: 14 games at Parma, one season at Leicester, neither of them in the first division in their respective countries. Once again, Chelsea believe they are the talent spotters supreme.

Maresca can also be seen as part of the Guardiolaisation of football. At various points in 2024, Pep Guardiola’s former players or backroom staff will manage Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Thus far, there is most evidence the magic rubbed off on Xabi Alonso, who last played for the current Manchester City manager eight years ago. If they are not all mini-Peps, there seems a broader quest to adopt his ideas.

Maresca, assistant manager in the treble-winning season, has won silverware more recently than Chelsea. He will arrive equipped with a deluxe footballing education.

And with a haul of 97 points, too – but at second-tier level. Hiring Maresca to replace Mauricio Pochettino offers echoes of Clearlake Capital’s decision to dispense with Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter: axing a manager with ample experience at this level, accustomed to dealing with big-name players and working in the fiercest of spotlights, and appointing one who is not.