Chelsea go into the 2024/25 Premier League campaign in a new era at the club, as it will be the first season that new head coach Enzo Maresca oversees.
The Blues hired the Italian from Leicester City following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino earlier this year.
Our head coach. pic.twitter.com/LQi0RlcwpI
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 10, 2024
Maresca is charged with turning Chelsea back into title contenders.
It has been seven years now since the South West London club won the league.
The Blues could only finish sixth last season, which means they missed out on qualification for the Champions League.
Italian coach inherits talented squad
Chelsea have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in their squad over the last few years, so Maresca inherits a strong group of players.
The Italian is 14/1 in the betting on sports online to win the Premier League title in his first season at the club.
The bet calculator with Paddy Power suggests a £10 single bet on Chelsea this season will generate a return of £150 if successful.
They are fourth best in the outright betting, but Blues fans will be hoping their new boss can give their players a big lift and surprise many pundits in the upcoming campaign.
New city, new club, new goals. So happy to be here! See you all at the Bridge. @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/8F3qd00ReP
— Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (@KDH__8) July 2, 2024
Maresca has already been busy in the summer transfer window.
He spent £30 million to bring midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to the club from Leicester, while he also signed Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer from Fulham.
Maresca worked with Guardiola
The new Chelsea head coach guided Leicester City to the championship title last season in his first year with the Foxes.
That was enough to convince the Chelsea board that he was the right man to take over from Pochettino.
Maresca knows all about Premier League football in England as he was the assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City between June 2022 and June 2023.
He played his part in helping City win the treble in the 2022/23 campaign, which included triumphs in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Guardiola often speaks very highly of his former assistant.
He predicted back in 2022 that Maresca would go on to become one of the best managers in Europe.
Chelsea fans will be hoping he has a similar impact in the Premier League as Mikel Arteta, another one of Guardiola’s former assistants, has at Arsenal.
City and Arsenal the Biggest Rivals to Chelsea
Manchester City and Arsenal battled it out for the title in the final stages of the 2023/24 season, and those two clubs are expected to be the teams to beat again in the latest campaign. City have now won the last four Premier League titles, becoming the first club to do that since the Premier League rebranded in 1992.
Arsenal finished just two points behind their rivals last season. It was the second consecutive year that the Gunners fell agonisingly short in their pursuit of the title.
Arteta’s squad is primed for a shot at the league championship once again.
Chelsea begin their new Premier League campaign against defending champions Manchester City on the 18th of August at Stamford Bridge.
Image credit: Fånga Images on Unsplash
