Scott Minto has suggested what he simply cannot believe as Chelsea seemingly close in on appointing Enzo Maresca as their new manager after parting company with Mauricio Pochettino.
It looks set to be another uncertain summer at Stamford Bridge – something which some may not have expected to happen after the Blues enjoyed a much more impressive second-half of the season.
Chelsea, in fact, finished their season with six wins on the spin. Nevertheless, it was still decided that Mauricio Pochettino would be leaving after just one year.
It does appear that the Blues have found his successor, with The Telegraph reporting that Enzo Maresca is going to be appointed. Quite remarkably, Chelsea will hand the Italian a five-year contract, and have agreed to pay Leicester City around £10 million in compensation.
Scott Minto in disbelief as Chelsea prepare to replace Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca
Maresca did lead Leicester to the Championship title last year, but he has not managed 70 games yet, having previously only had a short stint at Parma in 2021.
So it is a roll of the dice. And speaking on the Premier League All Access podcast, Scott Minto suggested that he is baffled by the club letting Pochettino go.
“I don’t want to be negative, negative, negative, so the one positive I can say is I think he’s a very good coach,” he said.
“I always try to look for a positive, and I do worry for Chelsea because you’re basically appointing a manager who’s only been a manager for one year. Yes, he got Leicester promoted, but the best squad in the Championship, and, at one point, you weren’t quite sure that that was going to happen.
“And he hasn’t been in front of the headlights that you will do with a big club, and Chelsea is a big, big club. So I genuinely hope it goes well. I do think he is a good coach, I cannot believe even right now that they got rid of Pochettino when you think about how good they’ve been since Christmas. But here we are.”
How Blues squad feel about Italian’s imminent arrival
It is going to be fascinating to see what Chelsea look to do should Maresca not hit the ground running as, unlike Pochettino, he is yet to show what he can do with top players.
Chelsea have made a number of questionable decisions since the current owners came in, and a number of their signings do not appear to have worked out thus far. So there will be concern that their faith in Maresca will prove to be misplaced.
Interestingly, it seems that the squad are optimistic. The Chelsea players are reportedly excited about the prospect of working with Maresca, despite their disappointment over Pochettino leaving.
It would be intriguing to know what the hierarchy view as success in what looks set to be Maresca’s first year in charge.