Chelsea set to stick with Maresca for next season

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is expected to lead the team into next season even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The club hierarchy, led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, plan to reserve judgement on the 45-year-old Italian until the summer of 2026.

That is despite ongoing uncertainty over whether Chelsea will secure a top-five finish following their 2-0 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday.

With two rounds of the Premier League season remaining, Maresca's team sit fifth, but they are only ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference, with matches at home to Manchester United and away at seventh-placed Nottingham Forest to come.

This has been Maresca's first season in charge, after joining from Leicester City in June 2024.

The top five from the top flight will qualify for the Champions League, with the Premier League benefiting from an extra place because of its teams' strong performances in Europe.

Chelsea have also reached the Europa Conference League final and will play Real Betis in Wroclaw, Poland, on 28 May.

If Maresca and his team fall short in the Premier League, injuries throughout the winter period will be considered a significant factor.

Underlying data showing their missed chances (the second most in the Premier League) and expected goals (fifth highest in the league) will also influence Chelsea's decision makers. Both metrics illustrate the team are creating a lot of scoring opportunities, even if they are not always finishing them.

Chelsea, therefore, are expected to retain the Italian, barring a huge U-turn or falling-out.

Senior figures have admired Maresca's hard work, progression tactically and adaptation to a revised club structure, featuring a new set-piece department and an entirely revamped medical structure and recruitment team.

They appointed him on a five-year contract, seeing him as the right man for a long-term spell in charge. Predecessor Mauricio Pochettino was on a two-year deal and left after only one season.

Chelsea's BlueCo ownership has a wider multi-club model which also features French top-flight side Strasbourg. Both teams play a similar style of football with Englishman Liam Rosenior in charge of Strasbourg. Academy teams at both clubs also play in a possession-based, modern way.

Maresca has so far slotted in with the modern vision of Chelsea and any future change of boss would be expected to result in a similar type of coach stepping in.

The club have expressed some regret in the past about removing Graham Potter before the end of the 2022-23 season, although they remain resolute that neither Thomas Tuchel nor Pochettino proved to be the right fit for Chelsea.