Manchester City close to £10m-plus deal to appoint Enzo Maresca as Guardiola's successor

Manchester City are closing in on the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new manager, with the club in advanced talks with Chelsea over a compensation package expected to exceed £10m.

Maresca, 44, left Chelsea in January after informing the club in autumn that he had held discussions about returning to the Etihad Stadium should Guardiola depart. Chelsea, whose contract with Maresca ran until 2029, took the view that he had breached that agreement when he left, and the two clubs are now working towards a settlement that would allow the Italian to take charge at City.

Guardiola announced his resignation in May after a decade at the club, ending his tenure with the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in his final season. Maresca has strong ties to the Etihad, having served two spells on Guardiola’s coaching staff, most notably as his assistant in 2022/23 when City won the treble, including the Champions League.

Since leaving City’s backroom, Maresca built an impressive managerial record of his own. He won the Championship with Leicester City before joining Chelsea, where he claimed the Conference League and the Club World Cup — a trophy haul that has made him the leading candidate to fill one of the most demanding jobs in European football.

Chelsea’s season deteriorated sharply following his January departure, with the club finishing tenth in the Premier League under interim replacement Liam Rosenior. The club’s hierarchy are reported to hold Maresca responsible for that decline, which has added complexity to the compensation negotiations.

City, meanwhile, have already moved aggressively in the transfer market as they begin rebuilding around a new manager. The club submitted a £106m bid for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson and have registered interest in Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, while defender Josko Gvardiol has been handed a new contract.