Man City ‘considering Enzo Maresca’ to replace Pep Guardiola as exit decision set | Football | Sport

Manchester City are reportedly eyeing a surprise move for Enzo Maresca to take over if Pep Guardiola opts to leave next summer. Maresca left City to pursue his own managerial career, having worked under the former Bayern and Barcelona boss at the Etihad, having moved to Leicester before Chelsea.

Maresca has impressed at Stamford Bridge, having won the Club World Cup in the summer, overseeing a ruthless overhaul of players in west London. His Chelsea side are currently sat fourth in the Premier League table, six points behind City and eight behind leaders Arsenal.

The Athletic claim that the Chelsea boss is high among the candidates in line to succeed Guardiola, with City planning for the possibilty of their head coach stepping down at the end of the season.

There is a growing anticipation that Guardiola will leave this summer, but a final decision is not expected until closer to the end of the campaign.

But such is the fears, City are working to plan for that possibility and identified Maresca as a leading candidate. He worked in both the academy and at senior level, but is one of several contenders.

The 115 Premier League charges that City are facing are thought to have no bearing on Guardiola’s decision to walk away or stay in Manchester.

Maresca has a contract until 2029 at Chelsea but recently hit out at the lack of support he is receiving at the club, following their 2-0 victory over Everton.

He described the days prior to the match as “the worst 48 hours since I joined the club, because many people didn’t support us” in a blistering rant and declined to elaborate further on the matter, only to praise the Blues fans for the love they have shown him.

Only weeks ago, Guardiola described Maresca as “one of the best managers in the world” and backed up the coach’s assertion: “The job he has done at Chelsea does not get enough credit.”