Leicester City have identified Enzo Maresca as a potential Dean Smith replacement, if they move on from the manager, according to recent reports.
Who will manage Leicester City next season?
Following their relegation from the Premier League, this summer is set to be one of great change for the Foxes, with several key players heading out the door in the coming weeks, but it remains to be seen whether the club’s first team manager Smith will be joining them.
Having been appointed in April to replace Brendan Rogers after the Irishman was sacked, the 52-year-old went unbeaten in five of his eight league games at the club, but it wasn’t enough to keep Leicester in the top flight.
With their fate sealed on the final day of the season, Smith’s future at the club was thrown in doubt, and now The Telegraph‘s John Percy has reported that while the club haven’t made any final decisions on his status at the club, they have identified Pep Guardiola’s assistant as a possible replacement.
Smith met with Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and the club’s director of football Jon Rudkin recently, and talks are said to have gone positively as they outlined plans for the side’s upcoming Championship campaign and pursuit for promotion, but things are still up in the air with Maresca now in the frame.
Who is Enzo Maresca?
Having worked closely with Guardiola as his assistant manager this season, Maresca has been learning from one of the very best in the game and could follow a similar path as that of Mikel Arteta, who once also worked under the tutelage of the Manchester City manager, before embarking on a successful managerial career himself at Arsenal.
The 43-year-old has a little bit of experience as a first-team coach, though, having spent a brief amount of time in charge at Parma, but it’s safe to say, things didn’t quite go to plan for the Italian, and he was let go after just 14 games which saw him pick up just four wins, despite having names like Gianluigi Buffon and Franco Vazquez in the side.
Leicester are taking their time figuring out who will be in charge of the side’s first season back in the Championship, but Maresca is in no rush to join, with his duties at Man City and their quest for the treble still his number one priority.
Any decision on his future will likely be made after the Champions League final next weekend, but with Smith still fighting to keep his job and a wealth of experience managing in the Championship on his side, it remains to be seen where the club will go from here.
