Enzo Maresca will find himself managing up in more ways than one when he gets to work at Chelsea on July 1.
As well as stepping up to the Premier League after leading Leicester to the Championship title, Maresca will have to deal with the various levels of the Blues’ hierarchy.
An inability to command fluent working relationships with Chelsea bosses ultimately led to the departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
Maresca knows the role the club want him to fulfil, but he will have to strike a delicate balance between following orders and respectfully stress-testing ideas and blueprints.
The 44-year-old Italian has become the fifth permanent manager of the post-Roman Abramovich era and has been given one of the longest contracts sanctioned by Chelsea for a boss. The move is designed bring stability after a turbulent two years under Todd Boehly and Clearlake.
Chelsea are employing Maresca as a head coach to work under co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, with that duo leading on transfer policy.
The Blues are set to prioritise a new goalkeeper, centre-back, left-back and forward this summer.
While Maresca will have sizeable influence, the club will ultimately control the ins and outs, and he is understood to be relishing the chance to operate in that structure.
But keeping working relationships cordial and aligned is always a challenge and will be one of the most pressing issues when he starts.
Another will be getting captain Reece James back to his best after two injury-hit seasons.
The 24-year-old full-back has all the attributes to become one of the world’s best players, and Maresca must find a way to keep him fit and rediscover his form.
James, who Kyle Walker has said is the epitome of the perfect right-back, can act as a linchpin for Maresca’s favoured formations, inverting to create an extra man in midfield.
The powerhouse defender needs to be a Chelsea talisman in attack, too, and fulfilling both roles will not only prove a challenge but also require careful guidance.
A full pre-season, after James was left out of the England squad for Euro 2024, should help.
A potentially exciting by-product of Maresca’s inverted full-backs could be a new level of performance for Enzo Fernandez.
Maresca’s namesake has not quite hit the heights since his £106.8million move from Benfica in January 2023 after he had just helped Argentina win the World Cup.
Fernandez has struggled to thrive in a double pivot alongside Moises Caicedo, but Maresca’s full-back inversion could allow him room to operate further upfield.
James can act as a linchpin for Maresca’s favoured formations, inverting to create an extra man in midfield
Should Chelsea find a way for Fernandez to find his niche through picking key passes from pockets of space, then Maresca will be well on his way to fully utilising his talent.
The challenges at Chelsea, who have tasked Maresca with getting them back in the top four next season and then to compete for the title, will rank among the toughest around. And when it comes to expectations, there will be few higher than those circling Cole Palmer.
The forward registered 22 goals and 11 assists in his first Premier League season for Chelsea, but Blues chiefs are convinced he can hit even loftier heights. Co-owner Boehly recently described Palmer as a “phenomenon”.
It will be essential for Maresca that he uses a system that compliments Palmer to maximise his output, like Pochettino did last season.
Maresca, who is bringing six staff with him from Leicester, will also need to win over Chelsea fans, who never fully took to Pochettino.
Chelsea’s new man will be out to build a bond with supporters from the off. But, as with all his other Stamford Bridge endeavours, there will be no substitute for winning.
