Enzo Maresca officially starts his role as Chelsea head coach today (July 1) as a new era embarks at Stamford Bridge.
The 44-year-old, who was appointed last month as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor, was the club’s first-choice candidate after a thorough process that saw a number of options considered for the role. Maresca will meet some of his players for the first time in the coming week at Cobham and begin to implement his ideas to the squad.
He won’t, though, be able to see all of his players just yet with a large chunk of them overseas representing their countries at Euro 2024 or the Copa America. He will get to work with a couple of the club’s new players with Tosin Adarabioyo and Omari Kellyman expected to show up at Chelsea’s training facility this week.
It will be a busy week for the Italian coach as he beds into life at a new club. And, with that being said, football.london takes a look at what will be on Maresca’s to-do list in the coming days.
With a lot of players still representing their countries, there is set to be plenty of academy involvement in the training sessions. For Maresca, getting to know the youngsters this summer is hugely important.
Take last season for example, Chelsea had to call upon some academy members – namely Alfie Gilchrist – to step up because of the injury crisis. Maresca will be desperate to not see a repeat of the ridiculous amount of injuries the squad suffered last season.
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Finding a role for Christopher Nkunku is imperative for Maresca. After such a stop-start debut season last time out, it is crucial for the France international to get going this time around.
However, Chelsea fans are still none the wiser about what sort of role Nkunku will play. During his impressive stint at RB Leipzig, Nkunku showed his versatility and played all across the front-line.
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For Chelsea, in his short time with the club, he has found himself in various positions, whether it’s been leading the line or in the No.10 role behind Nicolas Jackson. He can also play out wide, which might be the best role for him at Stamford Bridge to fit him in – particularly if the club manage to sign a right winger this summer.
While it will be busy for Maresca on the training pitch, he will also have duties behind the scenes, too. Working with the two co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley to discuss transfer business is likely to be on the agenda.
The newly-appointed Chelsea boss will not have the ultimate say in transfers because that is why Stewart and Winstanley are at the club. Maresca will, however, have some say on who comes in and who goes out this summer as we have seen with Chelsea agreeing a deal to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City.
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