Leicester City: Don't be shocked if Enzo Maresca plots Chelsea raid for 25-year-old - View | OneFootball

It feels as if Enzo Maresca's move to Chelsea is in an imminent position and Leicester City will be losing a top manager.

As per Fabrizio Romano on X, the Blues are about to complete an agreement with Leicester for Maresca for a fee of around £8,500,000.

Maresca was a brilliant addition by the Leicester board and has proved his worth in not only helping get them promoted but also developing some of their younger players.

Among those he has improved is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The 25-year-old had an unbelievable season, featuring in 44 of their games and being a prominent reason behind Maresca's success.

With this in mind, the Italian may have ideas about tempting Dewsbury-Hall to Stamford Bridge and the Foxes' financial crisis can only benefit the hope of this move.

Maresca's development of Dewsbury-Hall

Having learned from one of the finest in Pep Guardiola, Maresca's debut season was dominated by his clear vision of possession-controlled football. A player who has benefitted ten-fold from this is Dewsbury-Hall who, alongside Harry Winks, has been crucial to this system.

Featuring predominantly in the centre of the park, Dewsbury-Hall tends to be the most advanced midfielder and has thrived in this position. 12 goals and 14 assists display his attacking ability, but his tenacity and willingness to fight for the badge is another crucial aspect. Ranking highest for possession won in the final third for midfielders and touches in the opposition box, the statistics fully back this up.

A career that was once stagnating under Brendan Rodgers has been brought alive by Maresca with the extra responsibility he now holds akin to his predecessor James Maddison.

However, this season he may have to follow the same path Maddison did by leaving the club in search of top-level football and following his former manager to London could be a smart move.

Maresca should convince Chelsea's board to raid Leicester

A big factor behind Mauricio Pochettino's sacking was his desperation to have a larger say in the transfer dealings of the club. This will be a similar problem for Maresca, who, in accepting the terms at Chelsea, will likely have to work with the young signings the board provide. This should prove no problem for the Italian head coach, who at Leicester worked wonders under a similar regime.

However, if Maresca wants to convince them about one signing, it has to be Dewsbury-Hall.

With the head coach's prominence to play a 4-3-3 system, the English midfielder could be the perfect blend to feature alongside the £100 million duo of Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo. His attacking prominence mixed with his defensive nous is of stellar quality and this would likely free up Cole Palmer and one of Mykhailo Mudryk or Raheem Sterling in their defensive duties.

Rated at £45 million, money would not be an issue for Chelsea, but they will have to fight off supposed interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton.

An £89.7 million loss for the previous campaign and alleged breaches of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules could see the Foxes in real trouble next season. Whilst a points deduction seems possible, a method of saving themselves from more strife is the sale of players before the 30th June deadline.

Despite Dewsbury-Hall stating: “I’ve been at this club since I was 8 years old… I’ve got no intention of leaving”, the player may not have a choice come June.

One of the club's most valuable assets and with three years left on his contract, he would command a sizable fee that could begin to help the East-Midlands club sort out their finances.

Chelsea are a club that could take full advantage of this and, despite his minimal top-flight experience, Enzo Maresca would surely believe he could work his Dewsbury-Hall magic once again.