Chelsea manager: De Zerbi says ‘yes’ after Maresca talks twist – sources
Roberto de Zerbi has already said “yes” to the Chelsea managerial job, although Enzo Maresca remains in the running, sources have told Football Insider.
Maresca, 44, will hold further talks with the club in the next 24 hours as they narrow down their options before making a final decision on the identity of Mauricio Pochettino’s successor.
De Zerbi’s interest was made clear during discussions to take over at Stamford Bridge, although negotiations are muddied by the fact he is also in the running for the Man Untied job.
Thomas Frank, meanwhile, has also been linked with the position but is an outsider to take over, while Kieran McKenna has let it be known he wants to wait for Man United, as Football Insider revealed.
De Zerbi, 44, left Brighton at the end of the season after an awful run of form before emerging as a top contender to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea manager target says ‘yes’ to job as talks continue
His Seagulls side won just one of their last ten games of the season, and only five of their last 20, as they plummeted into the bottom half of the table.
However, having led to the club to the Europa League for the first time in their history, the manager has gained a lot of admirers across the Premier League and on the Chelsea board.
He was also named as a top contender to replace Erik ten Hag if the manager loses his job, as sources revealed to Football Insider.
Maresca, meanwhile, joined Leicester upon their relegation from the Premier League, having honed his skills as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City.
Despite a shaky end to the season, the boss managed to guide his side to the title with relative ease, accumulating 97 points.
His title-winning side scored an average of 1.93 goals per game, while conceding just 0.89 across all competitions, averaging 62.3 per cent of the possession as his side dominated the league for the majority of the season.
In other news, Chelsea players were left shocked by a surprise development.
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