Enzo Maresca "ready to quit" after his relationship with the Chelsea management collapses completely

Enzo Maresca is standing on the brink of a shocking exit from Chelsea. (Image credits – Heute, Licence Details)

Enzo Maresca is standing at the cusp of a premature exit from Chelsea FC amidst massive uncertainty surrounding his future at the club. The shocking news comes not even six months after the 45-year-old Italian manager led the Blues to a famous Club World Cup win in the USA.

As per reports from The Sun, Enzo Maresca is "ready to quit" his role as Chelsea's head coach after his relationship with the management completely collapsed, who have held crunch talks and discussions about Maresca's future and his ability to lead the team going forward.

These serious concerns have emerged after Maresca and co. have managed to secure just a single win in all competitions since beating FC Barcelona in the Champions League on 26th November. The latest and possibly now the final blow for the Italian tactician came on Tuesday night in their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, which reportedly led to the first serious meeting regarding Enzo Maresca's future at the club.

It is even said that Maresca's exit will be confirmed even before Chelsea's clash against Manchester City on Sunday, and he will not be in attendance for the crucial clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Who could replace Enzo Maresca at Chelsea?

As per our sources, Chelsea have kept tabs on their former manager and captain Frank Lampard, who is currently doing an excellent job with Coventry City, sitting at the top of this season's Championship table with 51 points in just 24 games and a strong lead of 8 points. Lampard has also led his side to become only the second team in Championship history to reach over 50 points and score more than 50 goals by the season's halfway mark.

The former Chelsea captain, who handled the managerial reins at Chelsea from 2019 to 2021 and as an interim manager during the second half of the 2022/23 season, could be seen making a return to his boyhood club, having already stated his desire to return multiple times. However, Lampard's commitment to Coventry currently makes the move unlikely.

Former FC Barcelona manager Xavi was once linked with a spectacular move to the Premier League, with Chelsea being his top choice, but obviously it did not happen back then, as the Blues remained firmly faithful to Enzo Maresca. However, the situation now looks very different, and we could finally see the legendary Xavi make his way to the Premier League.

Apart from these two, former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou, former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, former England manager Sam Allardyce, and Al-Hilal and former Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi are amongst the top names that are currently being linked with Chelsea for their soon-to-be-vacant managerial post.