Chelsea are set to announce Enzo Maresca as their next head coach in the coming days, and he’ll already be thinking about a few potential summer signings.
After parting ways with Mauricio Pochettino last month, the Blues seem to have chosen the Championship-winning Leicester City manager as his replacement.
The Italian’s arrival will see a significant change in the way that the team play, likely to result in more possession and control of games, so the West London club will need to make suitable signings.
Here are five realistic players that Maresca could target in his first transfer window at Stamford Bridge.
Tosin Adarabioyo
Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo is expected to become the first signing of Maresca’s Chelsea tenure.
Transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on Saturday that the Blues first approached Adarabioyo a month ago and an agreement has now been reached.
The 26-year-old has impressed for Chelsea’s West London rivals since joining from Manchester City in 2020.
Indeed, Fulham were desperate to keep him, but he has decided to leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract.
The Nigeria international possesses the ball-playing ability that should see him flourish in Maresca’s possession-based system.
Riccardo Calafiori
Riccardo Calafiori was integral to Bologna’s shock fifth-place Serie A finish in the 2023-24 season.
Despite excelling at left-back for Swiss Super League club Basel in the previous campaign, Bologna boss Thiago Motta decided to convert Calafiori into a central defender.
And, that proved to be a genius idea, as the 22-year-old has developed into one of the top defenders in Italy.
With an asking price of just €22 million, according to Italian outlet Tuttosport, it comes as no surprise to see Chelsea linked with a move.
His experiences on the left and in the centre of the defence make him a perfect fit for Maresca’s preferred inverted left-back role.
Alvaro Valles
Chelsea currently have two senior goalkeepers on the books: Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.
Sanchez started the season as Pochettino’s ‘number one’ but he was soon displaced by Petrovic, who enjoyed a solid debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
However, Maresca asks his goalkeepers to be far more involved in build-up play than his predecessor, and that is not an area in which either Petrovic or Sanchez excels.
As a result, the Blues could look to sign a replacement, and The Mirror are reporting that Las Palmas’ Alvaro Valles is on their shortlist.
According to WhoScored, Valles attempted more passes (47.3) per 90 minutes than any other keeper in La Liga this season.
Benjamin Sesko
For a number of years, it has been heavily suggested that Chelsea are in need of a world-class striker.
The likes of Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku and, most recently, Nicolas Jackson, have all tried and failed to fit that description.
But, the truth is that world-class strikers are extremely hard to come by, so the best solution is often to develop one internally.
At 21 years of age, RB Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko is exactly the type of player that could be worth double his £45 million price tag in a few years’ time.
The Slovenian, who scored 14 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches this season, is also said to be on Arsenal’s radar.
Crysencio Summerville
Chelsea fans may look down on the suggestion that the club could sign a Championship player for the first team, but Crysencio Summerville is more than capable of making the leap.
The Dutchman provided an outstanding 20 goals and nine assists in the league for Leeds United, who, after losing the play-off final, will surely have no choice but to let him go this summer.
The Blues’ existing left-wing options consist of the inconsistent Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling, while Christopher Nkunku can also play there if necessary.
So, with Chelsea set to compete in five competitions next season, including the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup, they could certainly do with another talented player in that position.
However, Liverpool are also keeping ‘a close eye’ on Summerville, according to Romano, so it may not be plain-sailing for the Blues to get a deal over the line.