𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Chelsea have to put the drama surrounding head coach Enzo Maresca over the past week behind them as quickly as possible.

That is certainly the intention, but it might be easier said than done now that there has been another twist added to the plot. The exclusive story broken by The Athletic’s David Ornstein on Thursday about Maresca being on a wishlist of targets at Manchester City — amid a growing impression that this is Pep Guardiola’s last season in charge at Etihad Stadium — means Maresca and the club are under even more scrutiny.

There was already a lot of intrigue over Maresca’s situation at Stamford Bridge following the rather self-inflicted wounds he caused by that post-match press conference after the 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday. As The Athletic explained, the Italian’s complaint that he had experienced the worst 48 hours of his time at Stamford Bridge due to a lack of support for him and his team came as a surprise to people at the club. The Athletic has spoken to several sources in the construction of this article, who all spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. One of those sources said there had been no falling-out or disagreement leading up to Maresca’s outburst.

Granted, he remained vague over who he was referring to, yet the theory that there are problems behind the scenes did not dissipate with Maresca’s unconvincing answers and behaviour in the press conferences either side of the Carabao Cup win over Cardiff City in midweek.

Eyes will be even more on him for every game and media interview, starting with Chelsea’s very difficult Premier League game against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday. They have lost at that ground on their last four visits.

Understandably, everyone wants to know how Chelsea have reacted to Maresca being potentially targeted by Manchester City at the end of the season. Sources insist there is a sense of calm and business as usual. Basically, the plan has not changed. The desire is to focus on getting good results and performances for the rest of the season so Chelsea can finish in the top four of the Premier League and do well in the three cup competitions (Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup). The intention to hold a review into everything at Chelsea, including Maresca, at the end of his second season in charge — so around late May or early June — remains.

Chelsea are accustomed to clubs wanting their players and staff, whether it is something genuine or just speculation. For example, they were aware of reports in Italy two months ago that Juventus were interested in Maresca following the sacking of Igor Tudor. The club reacted the same then as they are now, by just getting on with things as normal.

The club are in a strong position anyway. Firstly, because of their policy on contracts. Just like the majority of the players, Maresca was given a long-term deal on joining from Leicester City. His agreement runs until 2029, with an option in place for Chelsea to extend it by another 12 months. It will not be easy for anyone to prise him away.

Secondly, Chelsea have aimed to build a structure where they are not reliant on just one person. This even applies to the playing side. Sources point to the fact that Chelsea are still on track in terms of achieving their targets for the campaign despite being without their best defender, Levi Colwill, since the start of the season, after a knee injury. Their most gifted player, Cole Palmer, has made just seven appearances so far due to injury.

Sources say that Chelsea have been happy with the job Maresca has been doing and backed him during bad runs of form last season and this, committing to the two-year review plan. They also say they have done their due diligence and looked into compiling a list of potential successors for Maresca, but stress it is what every club tries to do over their staff and players.

Maresca acknowledging the away end at Cardiff (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

This should not be read into too much, given the recent events. It is standard practice and was already in place before Maresca’s outburst last weekend. No professional organisation wants to start from scratch in the event someone leaves, whatever the reason for that is. You simply have to prepare for all possibilities.

Chelsea sources say communication between Maresca and the hierarchy has continued and that the working relationship remains unchanged.

Understandably, it is going to be a lot harder for those on the outside to believe that, given the extent of Maresca’s original comments and the manner in which they can be perceived.

Even if Maresca comes out now to say he is happy at Chelsea and 100 per cent committed to them — the former midfielder has already said words to this effect earlier in the week — the seed has been planted by him that it might not be the case. Chelsea must avoid the commotion caused by that, as well as the potential threat of City’s interest, from having a destabilising impact on their season.

Everyone should bear in mind that this is the first time Maresca has managed a club into a second year. Before that, he had coached at Parma for just 14 matches and had one full campaign at Leicester City. He deserves some benefit of the doubt that he did not expect to cause such a stir — the way he acknowledged the away support at Cardiff and pumped his fist against the Chelsea badge on his jacket sent a more positive message.

The best medicine to nip this all in the bud, certainly until the review takes place, is simple. Maintain a consistent run of good results, and the inquisition from the outside will be negated somewhat. Well, for the time being at least.