Chelsea move towards appointing Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as their new manager as talks accelerate, with sources saying Italian is new leading candidate, after one rival for the job got call to tell him he ‘hasn’t made it’

Chelsea are moving towards appointing Leicester manager Enzo Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor, with talks gathering pace over the weekend.

The Italian is open to joining Chelsea despite winning promotion with the Foxes to the Premier League last season.

Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Chelsea had begun the process of conducting formal interviews with candidates and multiple sources claim Maresca is the club’s leading candidate to replace Pochettino, who left the club last week.

Kieran McKenna had been a candidate but Brighton are trying to appoint him as Roberto De Zerbi’s successor.

Chelsea called the Ipswich manager last night as a courtesy and respect to let him know that they had been close to reaching the final stage of their search, but had not achieved it.

The Blues continue to admire McKenna for the consecutive promotions he achieved with the Tractor Boys.

McKenna also has interest in Manchester United, who will part ways with Erik ten Hag following an end-of-season review.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank is another candidate for the Chelsea job.

De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim are among the other coaches the Blues are believed to have considered during the process.

But the club’s desire to appoint a young, progressive manager who can grow with the team has meant that Maresca, who worked under Pep Guardiola, is becoming a key factor in Chelsea’s decision to move forward with the highly regarded Italian. .