Chelsea sources reveal love for in-house Enzo Maresca replacement as exit looms amid major fallout | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has talked himself into serious trouble at Chelsea and his future has been plunged into doubt, TEAMtalk understands, with an in-house replacement already being lined up.

We spoke to high-level sources at Stamford Bridge at the start of December, who confirmed they were very happy with how Maresca was managing his situation.

Chelsea recognise that Maresca has had to cope with a lot during his time at the club – from a huge squad, that entails dealing with an annual ‘bomb squad’ of players not involved, to managing a group of players that barely has anyone over 25 years of age.

In his first season, he secured a top-four finish for the first time since 2022, whilst winning the Europa Conference League and delivering the World Cup Championship.

Even this season, we are told that Chelsea told Maresca to push on and cement themselves in the top-four before a real title push next season. As we revealed the club have also enjoyed how he has integrated their new signings, including top Brazilian prospect Estevao.

Chelsea have endured patchy form in December with disappointing defeats to Leeds, Atalanta and Aston Villa. However, it was quotes from Maresca himself that we are told has caused the real issues.

After their win over Everton, Maresca caused headlines when he revealed issues that had arisen for him that week.

“Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn’t support us,” he said.

When pressed on who he meant, he did not confirm, but we can reveal that internally the club admit that it was aimed at the leadership.

Chelsea owners angry at Maresca criticism

The comments caught the club’s hierarchy by surprise and we can confirm that owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been left shocked and annoyed.

We are told that one of the owners feels the comments were targeted at him and now Maresca’s position is suddenly in doubt, having been not in question just weeks ago.

Chelsea, whilst happy with Maresca management to this point, will not put up with their own management being called into question.

We understand Chelsea are not looking to make a change, but they now insist that they won’t be afraid to make the move if they believe it is right for the club.

Indeed, our sources confirm that the club’s hierarchy are holding talks on New Year’s Day about Maresca’s position, such is the seriousness of his situation.

When asked about whether Maresca’s future was in doubt, the source confirmed to us: “Things have turned on their head, those quotes from Enzo have gone down really badly. The credit he had built up during his first 18-months is now all but gone.”

Somewhat dangerously for Maresca is the belief within BlueCo that they already have a manager in-house that they believe could be ready to step up in the shape of Strasbourg’s Liam Rosenior.