Enzo Maresca reveals targets set by Chelsea owners on Champions League qualification | OneFootball

For a football club that often thrives on chaos, Chelsea have made headlines for a barrage of reasons over the last two years.

Since the takeover of the club by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital two years ago, the Blues have not been far from the centre of attention. Amid an ambitious rebuild of the club that has seen them replace the existing squad with a group of talented but unproven starlets, the spending has gone to unprecedented levels.

After a torrid start, Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League last season and appeared to finally be heading in the right direction after a late-season surge under Mauricio Pochettino. However, that was not enough to keep Pochettino in power and the Argentine amicably parted ways with the West London outfit.

In came Enzo Maresca, who was handed a five-year contract after guiding Leicester City to the Championship title last term. A surprising appointment, the Italian was selected for his attractive style of play, wanted by the decision-makers at Stamford Bridge. Many are now eager to see how the Blues fare and Chelsea tickets are expected to see a surge in demand.

However, their pre-season was dire, to say the least, as the players got to terms with Maresca’s methods. Defensive errors littered their three defeats, as Chelsea picked up one win from six in the summer.

The spending continued as Chelsea spent £219.6m on a host of new arrivals, with their spending having long surpassed £1bn – without qualifying for the Champions League – under Boehly.

Maresca has declared that he is not under pressure to secure Chelsea a top-four finish in 2024/25 despite successive years outside of Europe’s elite club competition.

“What I can say is that nobody from the club asked me for the Champions League this year. Nobody said that we need to finish in the first four. What they said is that we need to step-by-step arrive and compete.

“If you ask me, my dream is to compete with the teams that at this moment are dominating English football. A very good target already [is] when the owner, sporting directors, the managers and players all have the same idea we are going in the same direction.”

It is clear that Chelsea are adopting a patient approach to developing into a world-class team. They believe that they can achieve that through Maresca’s style even if results may take some time to follow.

Nevertheless, Maresca’s claims that he is not under great pressure should be taken with a pinch of salt as few would be surprised if that changes quickly with a trigger-happy ownership. The Blues have already had Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Pochettino and now Maresca as permanent head coaches within two years and that could continue should the team fail to pick up results.

Enzo Maresca’s task ahead

Maresca earned his chance at Chelsea thanks to his aesthetic football and the Blues feel they have identified a talented coach to revolutionise their football. A former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, similarities to the Spaniard are expected as we have seen with other disciples of the six-time Premier League winner.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have battled Manchester City for the Premier League title in the last two seasons, while Vincent Kompany has taken over at Bayern Munich in an attempt to wrestle back the Bundesliga title which Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen won with ease last season.

To merit more time in the hot seat, Maresca must implement his ideas early and stick to them. The hope will be that the owners can shield him from the storm if fans grow frustrated.

In a bid to aid the new manager, Chelsea have notably signed a ready-made Maresca follower in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who enjoyed a fantastic campaign with Leicester City in 2023/24.

Maresca was handed a tough assignment on the opening weekend as Manchester City arrived at Stamford Bridge. A polished performance from the champions saw City claim all three points, as the master (Guardiola) got one over the apprentice (Maresca).

Chelsea bounced back with an impressive win at Wolves before drawing with Crystal Palace before the international break. In between, the Blues unconvincingly navigated a two-legged tie with Swiss side Servette in the Europa Conference League to enter the competition’s new-look league phase.

It’s been a mixed start to what could be a marathon campaign for Chelsea, with involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup next summer. After two seasons of inconsistency, Chelsea will demand, at least, a sense of direction.

Read – Five players who didn’t make expected summer transfers

See more – The best value Premier league transfers of the summer

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