Revealed: Enzo Maresca’s work behind-the-scenes since Chelsea exit to succeed Pep Guardiola at Man City | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has kept busy since parting ways with Chelsea on New Year’s Day as he prepares to become the new Manchester City manager, as per reports.

The 46-year-old is set to replace Pep Guardiola on the touchline at the Etihad Stadium on an initial three year deal, with a verbal agreement in place between the Italian and the Manchester City hierarchy.

Guardiola is expected to step down as Manchester City boss after Sunday’s Premier League finale against Aston Villa that could yield a farewell league title – should the last five days of the title race go exactly as planned for the Blues – with some help from Crystal Palace.

When an announcement will be made to confirm what is being touted as the worst-kept secret in football remains to be seen as Guardiola keeps his side focussed on the title run-in.

What will Pep’s final week at Man City look like?

Guardiola is understood to have been left furious with the timing of reports confirming his upcoming Manchester City departure – after a flurry of reports in the English press indicated on Monday night that the 55-year-old is set to bring the curtain down on an illustrious, trophy-laden spell in north-west England.

City lifted the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday after seeing off Chelsea in a narrow final win and the Blues could yet win the Premier League title on Sunday, when they will bid farewell to outgoing stars Bernardo Silva and John Stones.

An open-bus parade in Manchester on Monday next week will celebrate the achievements of the men’s and women’s sides this season, with the event likely to allow City fans to also bid an emotional farewell to their legendary manager.

An official announcement confirming Guardiola’s departure could come anytime this week, with reports this week relaying that Manchester City’s media team have had material in place for an announcement for some time.

Report: What Maresca has been up to since Chelsea exit

As reported by journalist Ben Jacobs, Maresca is ready to return to work since his parting with Chelsea on January 1st, having kept himself busy studying football trends and seeking inspiration from sports personalities, including volleyball coach Julio Velasco.

The former Manchester City EDS coach, who also served as assistant to Guardiola, was widely touted as the leading candidate to succeed the Catalan in recent months.

Following his exit from Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day, it was revealed that Maresca has informed Chelsea executives of preliminary conversations with Manchester City over replacing Guardiola – if and when the the former Bayern Munich boss would leave the Etihad Stadium.

It has further been revealed by The Athletic’s Sam Lee that Manchester City’s former director of football Txiki Begiristain believed as early as six years ago that Maresca would succeed Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

Having worked across the academy and first-team sides at the Etihad Stadium, Maresca will now return to the Etihad Stadium with the near impossible task, on paper, of succeeding Manchester City’s greatest-ever manager.