How much Chelsea will pay Leicester to sign former Manchester City assistant manager following talks

Enzo Maresca has jumped ahead of the queue to be the next Chelsea manager in the last 24 hours and LondonWorld has been told the Blues have initiated talks and asked Leicester permission to speak to their manager. 

Maresca led the Foxes straight back to the Premier League after relegation last season, he did so by playing some of the best football and bringing the best out of players like Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks and Stephy Mavididi. 

LondonWorld understand that the 44-year-old is close to leaving Leicester City having given his blessing for Chelsea to advance and speak to the Foxes to agree a fee that will see him move to west London this week. 

To get Maresca, the Chelsea boss will have to pay a fee of £10million, LondonWorld has been exclusively told.

Twists in search for a new manager 

Chelsea set the ball rolling for a new manager after Mauricio Pochettino left the club last Tuesday following a season review with the sporting directors and owners. 

He is reported to have demanded that he had a bigger voice in transfers, a request the Chelsea owners and sporting directors turned down which meant they agreed it was best to say goodbye.

Since then, Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and Maresca have all been linked to the job as well as former Brighton and Hove manager Roberto De Zerbi.

The Chelsea sporting directors have left no stone unturned as they look for a manager who is capable of getting the best from a talented group of players that have been assembled to take over the world in the next few years. 

Chelsea will play in the Europa Conference League next season after finishing sixth in the league. They were primed to play in the Europa League but Manchester United’s surprise win over Manchester City has relegated them to a competition they’ve never played in. 

The new manager will have to hit the ground running if they're to excel in that competition and the league.